Devo (Chris Smith, 2024, UK/USA)

Devo is a 2024 documentary by Chris Smith (American Movie) exploring the legacy of the band Devo. Devo - a band who defined the sound and style of post-punk and new wave before such things even existed - began as an art project at Kent State University in Ohio in the early 70s. Following the Kent State shootings, which rocked the country, Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh began the project to chronicle humanity’s de-evolution. The film traces the bands early years as more of a performance art project, with a sound that was purposefully meant to alienate audiences. Eventually, with the explosion of bands like The Ramones, the guys realized that they could write catchier songs without compromising on their artistic integrity.

The second half of the film is the strongest, capturing Devo’s meteoric rise to fame in New York’s underground rock scene during the late 70s. The early club performances are electric, and it is easy to see why the band captured the attention of everyone from Saturday Night Live to David Bowie. This Bowie relationship brought them into contact with Brian Eno, who helped produce the band’s true debut album. And yet this was just the beginning, as we see the origin story of one of the 80s most iconic and perplexing hits - “Whip It.”

For those familiar with the band, the film’s latter third, which centers on the band’s disintegration, won’t come as a surprise. Given the band’s reunion and continued fandom, there is a positive note. Smith’s film does a great job capturing a band that was able to bring an outsider perspective to true mainstream culture (including the advent of MTV), until they were no longer able to sustain the project, and it fizzled out. Devo is worth watching for fans of the band and also for music fans generally.

7/10