Welcome to the Boolin Tunes Staff Spotlight, a special segment on the site in which we dive deep into a classic or simply personally beloved album to shine a light on releases that we feel deserve a second glance.
There’s not much to say about The Devil Wears Prada that hasn’t already been said. One of the most revered and consistent bands of their genre, all the while as they constantly shift and evolve their sound through their many eras. In my track review for their latest single, “Termination,” I touched briefly on TDWP’s pedigree in the scene as a group who refuses to compromise on their artistic integrity, while being among an era of bands who have for the most part fallen off the map, with those who haven’t for the most part having abandoned their initial sound long ago. Some changes were for the best, some for the worse, but it remains worthy of praise that in every iteration of TDWP’s sound they have unmistakably, iconically, unapologetically them.
Another way the Ohio group have broken the mould for me, is making an album as fantastic as Transit Blues as late into their storied career as they did. Admittedly, the record flew under my radar upon its release back in 2016, and that’s a transgression I can’t forgive myself for. As from the moment I started to the moment I finished Transit Blues I was hooked in a way that I hadn’t quite experienced from a metalcore project in some time. It felt real – and that’s not to say that the band’s prior music wasn’t authentic, quite the opposite really. This felt different, though, and I think that’s what resonates with me the most about Transit Blues. This is the most raw and personal feeling record this band has ever penned in their storied and impressively consistent career. It’s also one that I don’t think they could’ve made at any other point in their career.
There’s this level of tangible honesty and emotion strewn across this thing. Anger, sadness, and the record’s central themes of homesickness and the general woes of the road; Transit Blues strikes a chord with me unlike any other The Devil Wears Prada project before it. The album’s second single, “To The Key Of Evergreen” demonstrates the group’s emotional reality to me more than any other song on the record. Both lyrically and instrumentally; this song is sweet, mournful, and intensely climactic. The bridge section of the track builds this gorgeously sombre instrumental as vocalist Mike Hranica yells emotionally about caring for a loved one while on the road. “I’ll drive slow across black ice, and you’ll be safe to rest your eyes” Hranica cries out in his signature, visceral tone. On the surface the song is quite aggressive, but deeper than that it’s a love story, and a gorgeous one at that.
Despite my earlier statement about my surprise of this album’s quality this late into their career, I don’t think this album could’ve been made so poignantly at any other point in their career. Having been on the road for 11 years at the time of this record’s production, the themes on display throughout this record are clearly a product of having experienced that. The album’s main theme revolves around touring, the constant traveling, and the Transit Blues that come with it.
Early-album track “Worldwide” exemplifies the album’s concept better than any other. The songs explores disillusionment and a ‘falling out of love’ with travel while on the road. Clean vocalist Jeremy DePoyster belts out “I wanna get lost in you, Tokyo” in the track’s chorus, demonstrating the group’s dejection with constantly moving around the world, but never truly being able to take in the places they end up. The band expresses the love they have for their home, with Hranica screaming “while home is always best, my neighbourhood in the Midwest,” but ultimately still feeling remorse that they haven’t seen more of the world, despite having been across it numerous times.
These tracks are just a small number of the many fantastic, raw and emotional cuts on this record. To name a few more favourites of mine, “Lock & Load” is an aggressive cut discussing the ongoing epidemic of gun violence and school shootings in the United States, as an uncomfortable plea for the senseless violence to stop. “Home For Grave Pt. II” tells a conceptual and poignant story of loss and life catching up to you. Title track and album closer “Transit Blues” ties the record’s central theme of the road, creating lyrical parallels with opening track “Praise Poison” with the line “The shout proclaimed: “the poison praised!” They make my words an unmarked grave.” All of these songs carry their own contributions and emotional weight in relation to the album’s core themes, giving the record a vast sense of variety both sonically and lyrically, but somehow the group have managed to create an incredibly dense and concise project despite that.
I could go on and on about my love for each and every one of the 11 tracks on this record, but I’ll keep it brief. Transit Blues is the most deeply personal, engaging and raw piece of work The Devil Wears Prada have created to date. It’s an album that I feel is sorely overlooked outside of the group’s core fanbase, and one I feel deserves a second chance from any fan of the genre. It’s one of the genre’s most brilliant gems, and a surprising high point for a group who have made a name for themselves through their incredible consistency.
For more on The Devil Wears Prada, including our upcoming review of the highly anticipated ZII, keep it locked on Boolin Tunes. Check back next week for another edition of the Staff Spotlight, where we do a deep dive back in time to a record that we think deserves another (or potentially a first) chance.