Alt Rock Artist DEVON THOMPSON Dances The Tightrope Between Beauty & Violence With Upcoming EP: SKIN
“Devon Thompson’s inevitability belongs in an enclosed room where you cannot tell what time it is. Her haze is far too cumbrous to have to consider the weight of the sun. Her place on stage poses a priority on you, to identify your one. As I had listened to Thompson’s performance my mind often drifted. Not because it was dull at all, but because good music makes it not about the music.” – LA Times
“Her recordings are thus far lingering with the Bel Canto of Roy Orbison, the delicacy of Harriett Wheeler and the sheer aggression of PJ Harvey. Devon has trimmed her ensemble to the bare essentials for maximum impact.” – American Pancake
“A unique blend of dark wave allure and atmospheric vocals, ensuring an unforgettable experience that transcends musical boundaries.” – Top Shelf Music
“Her sultry ululations engulf, making it easy enough to find the poetry in a killing rage. ” – Beats Per Minute
“Skin highlights the visceral and ethereal, the duality of emotions. The EP in its entirety is like a bipolar rollercoaster of emotions.”
– Devon Thompson
DEVON THOMPSON
Dances The Tightrope Between Beauty and Violence With Upcoming EP
SKIN
Out MARCH 29
EP release show at Gibson Showroom in Los Angeles on March 28
MARCH 13, 2024 (Los Angeles, CA) — Thematically balancing beauty and violence, L.A.-based alt-rocker DEVON THOMPSON’s upcoming EP Skin (out on March 29, 2024 via Exquisite Feline) keeps both in check, finding equity in pleasure and pain. “Skin is delicate, yet so tough,” she explains, examining the title of her EP. “You can prick parts of our bodies with a needle and not feel much pain. But others, you’ll bleed instantly.” Exploring the darker reaches of alt-rock with her pristine sense of melody in check, Thompson pulls together a fascinating pastiche of post-punk and gothic tendencies and matches it with a nimble knowledge of rhythm and melody, drawing a capable comparison to the resilient tenderness of flesh.
“Skin has always been fascinating to me,” she explains. “This year I have been abusing mine with all the guitar playing and my tattoos, so it only felt fair to dedicate some of the most painful songs to it. The skin on my fingertips would basically either shrivel up and fall off or would be rubbed raw from all the steel string contact.”
The Gibson Guitars-represented artist continues, “Skin is my second EP. It highlights the visceral and ethereal, the duality of emotions.” She continues, “The EP in its entirety is like a bipolar rollercoaster of emotions… ‘Straitjacket’ is the fun, psychotic song. It’s the first sign of ‘having a breakdown,’ so to speak… It’s almost feral, animalistic… I think it’s great to open the EP with because it really sets the tone. It’s not all pretty, not all peaceful. That’s why it’s perfect, because I am already showing my flaws to the world… the open exposed wound that is my art.”
“‘I Love You But It Hurts Like Hell’ is my angry-femme, bitch song, where I am just over it all. It’s also my realization that I don’t need to let someone ruin my life anymore.” Next on the EP, “‘So Close’ sounds hauntingly devious… ‘cause it is,” the dark, fierce, and zealous artist laughs. “It’s when I enter my villain era, and I’m out for revenge on those who have wronged me. I know you’re not supposed to want revenge, and take the high road, but not me… Not this time…”
“‘Poison Me’ sounds saccharine-laced, but has a very twisted meaning,” Devon says. The most recent of her singles, the lovely but serpentine track is “a play on the classic Snow White tale… I modified the story so that Snow White actually WANTS to bite that apple. All she wants is eternal peace, a dreamless slumber with no concept of time. There, she will be happy,” she conveys. “‘Poison Me’ is about being addicted to the toxicity that love can bring you. ‘Inject it in my veins’ kinda shit. So it’s basically a plea, begging that person to feed into my delusions.”
Finally, “‘She’s The Devil’ is an acoustic song, but it’s sassy. This is a telling of someone I knew who ruined someone else’s life. I am now not thinking of myself anymore- I’ve found my peace. I am able to transcend into the next phase of myself, whatever that may be… It’s a growing, a maturity, where I am no longer fixated on the beauty and pain of myself. Now, the torture and passion is passed onto the next poor soul.”
Most of Skin was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with Devon working with a few different co-writers. “This EP is a showcase of my personality as a whole,” she explains. “I have my soft, lovely, angelic side. But the rest of me is very dark, pessimistic, even hedonistic. I’m extremely proud to put out something so symbolic of who I am as a person, and as an artist. A big theme of this EP and collection of songs is ‘Fairytales vs. Nightmares,’ fever dream-like visions I have.”
While Devon enjoys darker imagery, lyrics, and sounds, there is an unmistakably mature levity in her voice and sensibility that belies her youth, as she gravitates towards the gothic while still footed in the mirth.
DEVON THOMPSON’s Skin
Track list:
- Straitjacket
- I Love You But It Hurts Like Hell
- So Close
- Poison Me
- She’s The Devil
Embracing an “outsider” point of view is something intrinsic not only to Devon’s songwriting but to her being as well. Bullied and criticized for being artistic, her upbringing in Los Angeles wasn’t exactly idyllic. A lone wolf of sorts, the oppression she received from the popular kids only empowered her to focus on her creativity, blossoming into the critically-hailed artist that she is today.
Called “sonically impressive and lyrically bold” (Altitude), “bare bones rock with alternative post punk and indie flavors throughout”, and compared to “PJ Harvey, Sarah Bettens, Johnette Napolitano” (American Pancake), Devon channeled the angst and transformed it into the fiery rockers and intense slow burns that have defined her career so far. “When I struggle mentally, I use my writing for good and create stories where I can more positively influence myself,” she says about her mining of past trauma. “Even if the concept is dark, it helps me so much to write about it, and write about it from someone else’s perspective.”
With more music and live performances planned for 2024, Devon is gearing up for a busy and fast-paced year. Her partnership with producer James Salter (The Raveonettes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) which has already spawned a previous single released in late 2023 (the intense slow burn “So Close” with its serial-killer/zombie-inspired video) promises even more singles ahead.
“We were just going to do six songs together and part ways, but we had something going,” she explains. Bonding over a shared love for the 4AD shoegaze band Lush, Devon and Salters continued to collaborate which resulted in a wealth of new music to be released this year. Devon also has the following shows coming up in Los Angeles:
- March 28 – EP release show at Gibson Showroom in Los Angeles
- April 18 – JT Presents at The Venice West in Los Angeles
- April 28 – Feminine Energy at The Bourbon Room in Los Angeles
Devon Thompson’s Skin will be released on March 29, 2024 via Exquisite Feline.
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