Album Stream: Tyler Holmes – Devil

Ah yes – The Horned One aka Satan aka Lucifer aka Beelzebub aka Mephistopheles. While IHN is not into promoting satanism/the occult, by any means, we also couldn’t help but notice that artists seem to bring up Devil more and more often in their work.
Exhibit A arrived in the shape of hair-raising sound/video collage created by Whettman Chelmets and Joan Pope (Temple ov Saturn). And now Exhibit B is here – new EP from Oakland’s Tyler Holmes, self-described fan of horror movies and Marilyn Manson. Not only is the EP entitled “Devil”, but there’s also an eponymous song to be found within – electro-pop/industrial number with heavily processed vocals that could satisfy fans of both r&b, goth and ambient/experimental music.
The rest of EP follows a similar pattern with its colorful blend of genres and styles, from electro pop to industrial to r&b. There’s something to be commended for Tyler’s refusal to be boxed in musically, especially in the day and age when pop music too often succumbs to simplicity for the sake of making it to the charts.
Devil is out on Aug. 30 via Ratskin Records