To say anything of the beginning parts of this decade would be repeating so many other content creators out there (Myself included). For those exceedingly few people who were living under a massive rock back in 2020: we had a once-in-a-century plague sweep the planet, hordes of people have died because of this plague, and chaos was rampant practically everywhere. Here in the United States, we were hit especially hard by the plague, and due to what was perhaps the worst of Donald J. Trump’s years in office, we had more people die than anywhere else in the world. Coupled with racial tensions that were practically on fire, not to mention political corruption the likes of which we’ve never seen in America, it’s no wonder so many of us thought the world was coming to an end.
And then, there’s Devin Townsend. HevyDevy has been no stranger to my little piece of the internet. Every time he’s shown up, he has been met with nothing but near universal praise.....but I’m getting ahead of myself. By about mid March of 2020, Devin was about halfway through his tour for Empath when the shutdown took place, effectively cutting it in half, and we all know too well what the year of isolation was like. However, if there was one exceedingly good thing about being locked up so much, it would be that musicians & other artists had time to work on things, and the Mad Canadian was no exception. From songs ***:
QUARANTINE PROJECT Part 6: HONEYBUNCH
To podcasts:
DEVIN TOWNSEND PODCAST #3: Infinity
And even some livestreamed “Concerts”:
Devin Townsend Christmas Show - StageIt show #6
It’s obvious that Devin wasn’t going to let COVID stop him from creating art. Fortunately, he managed to crank out a few albums during that time & beyond. There was the ambient duo of The Puzzle & Snuggles, the livestreamed Devolution Series #2 - Galactic Quarantine, and the subject of today’s review, Lightwork. Normally I’d have something to say about the album, but I think I’ll let HevyDevy say it instead:
“Hey all :) this is Devin. Welcome to my newest album ‘Lightwork’ The last few years have been a lot, and this is the music that I wrote during that time.
In essence, Lightwork is a bit more of a ‘song’ oriented album. A bit more direct and simpler than a lot of what I’ve been doing lately. After ‘Empath’ and ‘The Puzzle’, things kind of swung back in the direction of more traditional arrangements for Lightwork.
Lyrically, It kind of hints at the struggles of the last few years but with an eye on putting the pieces back together again.
We chose ‘Moonpeople’ as the first of three video releases from this project, The three videos share a theme, so I think that’ll work.
Moonpeople is the first song on Lightwork and acts as a sort of mission statement for the album. Post pandemic… kids are now teens… 50 years old, who am I now? Beyond any platitudes or delusions, who am I now that the smoke is clearing and what do I want to do, and who do I want to be, moving forward?
The term ‘Moonpeople’ in my mind, refers to those in society that kind of ‘watch’ things rather than being directly involved in it. Maybe the Moonpeople are more introverted rather than extroverted? In any case, it functions as a song on the album that will set the stage for the dynamic nature of the material that follows it.”
Couldn’t have said it better myself. At the end of the day, Lightwork is album that attempts to make sense of what 2020 & 2021 were like. An attempt to calm things down after rampant death & disease, and an attempt to restore some kind of balance to everything. Lightwork, for the most part, is a calm & soothing experience: there’s a sense of ease and peace within the music that’s just welcoming after the hellscape we’ve all experienced in recent memory. You get the feeling that something has been restored within you by the time you’re done. You may not know what that thing was, but you know that something did came back.
As such, picking the best songs off of Lightwork was easy, and that goes to the trio of Moonpeople, Call Of The Void, and Lightworker. These 3 tracks perfectly convey the mission of what the album as a whole was trying to do: make sense of recent times, and fill in the cracks those times made with something good. They’re all soothing & relaxing in so many ways, they bring back some kind of peace we all once had before 2020. Even Lightworker, despite being the loudest of this trio at times, can calm & center you by the time it’s done playing. Though these songs aren’t ordered like this on the album, they represent each and every goal that Lightwork attempts to accomplish.
Moonpeople
Call Of The Void
Lightworker
So, if all of the songs are wonderful, does that mean there’s anything bad about Lightwork? Not really. Devin absolutely worked his ass off on this release, and it shows within each & ever single note. If I did have one critique with the record, it would be that it’s too calm & relaxing at times. Like I said a little earlier, there are a couple of exceptions to this, but more often than not things are perhaps a little too peaceful. It’s not a massive fault, but it’s one that’s incredibly noticeable across the quieter songs. Empath from 2019 would have a similar issue.....but I’ll get to that when the time is right.
Lightwork gets a 10 out of 10. One hiccup aside, it is a wonderful experience that was very needed after what recent years have been like. If you need some peaceful music to ease your mind & soul, you can’t go wrong with Lightwork!
However, there’s not just one album in this review, as we got the B-Side record to look at! Given the name of Nightwork, the record is the odder of the two. It’s the stranger of the two. It’s the weirder of the two! That being said, despite the oddity of Nightwork, there’s a surprising amount of calm brought over from Lightwork. Not as much as you think, as this B-Side record is a bit heavier, but strangely enough this causes sort of a balance to be establish. Some oddness here, some serenity over there, and some heaviness over in the corner. At times the balance isn’t perfect, but more often than not it is well maintained, and creates an experience that’s just as satisfying as Lightwork, & perhaps better at times.
Picking the best song off of Nightwork was a little harder than the base release. Again, the weirdness of this B-Side, despite it maintaining a balance between 3 aspects, means that it’s identity isn’t as solid as Lightwork. That being said, Precious Sardine is so bizarre, it’s hard to not like it. If the previously mentioned album showed off the peace that Devin wanted to bring to the listener, then Precious Sardine represents the madness & isolation of 2020 (And 2021 to a lesser extent). HevyDevy somehow managed to recreate the chaos of that year in a 10 minute track, and yet there’s a weird beauty to the whole experience. It’s actually kind of hard to explain, so click on the link below to hear what I mean.
Precious Sardine
And as for the worst track off of Nightwork? Screw it, there isn’t one! As with Lightwork, Devin crafted a B-Record that’s just perfect from beginning to end, and just as satisfying as it’s main counterpart. Really the only things to complain about I’ve already said above in one form or another, so there’s no need to say any of it again.
Nightwork gets a 10 out of 10.
And that was my look at Lightwork & it’s B-Side, Nightwork. I definitely felt warm & fuzzy by the time I was done listening to the both of these albums last year, and they still continue to provide me with some much needed positive vibes over a year later. So with this post up, it’s time to take a Thanksgiving break for the rest of this month, and then I’ll see you on the 1st of December for the start to my typical end of year posts. Stay tuned!
***
Here’s from where I took Devin’s quote from:
https://hevydevy.com/discography/lightwork/
Also, if you’d like to hear the album (Including Nightwork), then the link is right below:
DEVIN TOWNSEND - LIGHTWORK (DELUXE EDITION) (2022)
Also Also, Honeybunch was going to be put on Lightwork, but ultimately wasn’t due to a sample taken from Barbie Girl from Aqua. Screw the music business.
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