Milton and the Devils Party

Milton and the Devils Party
Origin	Philadelphia, PA, United States
Genres	Indie pop
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Transit of Venus
Website	www.miltondevilsparty.com
Members
Daniel Robinson Mark Graybill Bob Falgie

Overview

Milton and the Devils Party is an American Indie rock band from Philadelphia, PA. It was formed in 2001 by singer-songwriter-bassist Daniel Robinson and guitarist Mark Graybill. Drummer Bob Falgie joined in 2006.

Critics frequently compare the band's sound to The Smiths and to R.E.M. and praise the songs' lyrics, noting that Robinson and Graybill are English professors [2].^[1] One review credits the band with the invention of a new sub-genre called "jangle noir" [3]. Nearly every press item on the band emphasizes the band's accessibility, urging listeners to overlook the academic credentials. One critic writes, "Sure the music is intelligent but it's far from exclusionary" [4]. In an interview with Metro Philadelphia, Robinson says, "We don’t want people to think that we’re pompous. We don’t take ourselves too seriously."^[2] Critics also frequently compliment Graybill's guitar arrangements [5].

As Robinson explains in numerous interviews, the name of the band is derived from a passage in William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell in which Blake calls the poet John Milton "a true Poet and of the Devils party without knowing it" [6]. Robinson tells Metro Philadelphia, "There's a famous belief that (John) Milton when he wrote Paradise Lost and created the character of Satan, he inadvertently made Satan more interesting and appealing than any of the good characters. . . . It's kind of a joke. I thought it would be a funny name for a rock band because there's that whole silly tradition of rock Satanism." Though he is frequently compared to Elvis Costello, Robinson asserts that his main songwriting influences are Ray Davies, Morrissey, Nick Cave, and Lloyd Cole.[7]

History

Robinson and Graybill met while pursuing their doctorates at the University of South Carolina.[8] When both ended up at Widener University, they decided to form Milton and the Devils Party.[9]

The band played its first show on July 5, 2002 at the Philadelphia venue Club 218 on South St. The original lineup included Robinson, Graybill, guitarist Pat Manley, and drummer Martin Evans [10]. After building a small following consisting mostly of Robinson and Graybill's students at Widener University, the band went into the studio with New Jersey producer Harris London to record its first album, What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? The self-released CD featured 12 songs and received some impressive critical notices upon its release in 2004. Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News wrote, "As you'd suspect, their lyrics have an edge, but the spirit of songs like 'End of the Affair,' 'Perfect Breasts' and 'Ugly American' is more sarcastic punk than high-falutin' poetics. And the band's propulsive, power pop music offers the sweet-and-sour whiff of an Elvis Costello or R.E.M. anthem."^[3] Philadelphia Weekly wrote, "The Philly quartet's debut What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? finds singer/songwriter/bassist Daniel Robinson charmingly channeling the bee-stung sincerity of Elvis Costello and Matthew Sweet."[11] The greatest strength of the band appears to be the literary quality of the songs: as a reviewer for Glorious Noise put it, "What Is All This Sweet Work Worth?, the first album from Philadelphia's Milton and the Devils Party, combines lyrical complexity with powerful pop hooks. But this is no snotty adolescent parade of undergraduate pseudo-intellectualism. Sharp and catchy, this CD deserves a broad audience" [12] The title of the album comes from a line in Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "Love's Philosophy." One song, "To Jane", is derived from poems Shelley wrote to Jane Williams.

In 2006, the band released an "expanded and revised edition" of What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? on the New Jersey power-pop label FDR. This version contains two additional songs and enhanced arrangements of the original tracks. Reviews were mixed: one reviewer found a spiritual allegory in the songs [13] and another found it to be "banal" and "familiar" [14]. The re-release received only slight press attention, some of it strongly negative. [15] The band did have some success on college radio.

In 2007 the band signed with Philadelphia indie label Transit of Venus, label home of The Trolleyvox. With new drummer Bob Falgie replacing Evans, they recorded their second album in the fall of 2007. How Wicked We've Become was released in September 2007 and was produced by Brian McTear, who has produced The A-Sides, Matt Pond PA, and B.C. Camplight. With this album the band began to reach a wider national audience and received more positive reviews. Paste Magazine writer Andrew Whitman wrote, "There are deep undercurrents of longing and yearning in the lyrics, cleverly disguised by the bright, uptempo music. The themes are universally relevant, although it's probably not a bad idea to keep a thesaurus near your iPod just in case"[16]. David Miller at Blog Critics Magazine compared Robinson's vocals to Elvis Costello and praised the album as "Robinson's personal commentary on the human condition"[17]. Allmusic gave this album three and a half stars, describing it as having an "'80s college rock feel" and comparing Graybill's guitar playing to Peter Buck and Johnny Marr.[18] The band also played its first showcase at CMJ's Music Marathon in October 2007.

The band in 2007 also contributed a cover of The Kinks' "Victoria" to the FDR label compilation About a Girl, featuring covers of songs with women's names in the title.

In the summer of 2008, while still promoting How Wicked We've Become, the band began recording its third album, again with McTear in Philadelphia. The future release of this album is unknown, but Robinson has put several songs from it on his personal website [19], where the title of the third MDP album is given as "You Must Contribute, Brain!"

On 20 December 2008, the band played a show to celebrate Milton's 400th birthday at the World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. MDP continues to perform occasionally in Philadelphia.

Discography

Year	Title	Label
2004	What Is All This Sweet Work Worth?	Self-released
2006	What Is All This Sweet Work Worth? (Expanded and Revised Edition)	FDR Label
2007	How Wicked We've Become	Transit of Venus
2012(?)	You Must Contribute, Brain!	Transit of Venus

External links

• Milton and the Devils Party Official website
• Milton and the Devils Party on Allmusic
• A long review at Two-Way Monologues

Notes

1. ^ Robinson and Graybill are both tenured English professors at Widener University in Chester, PA.[1]
2. ^ Smith, Matt. Metro Philadelphia,Thursday, December 9, 2004
3. ^ Philadelphia Daily News, Friday, August 13, 2004