The Devil You Know is the sixth album by Atlanta garage punk trio The Coathangers. After mastering the loud and energetic side of rock n’ roll through a steady collection of releases spanning over twelve years, The Coathangers are back with a set of recordings that is noteworthy in a number of ways. They have dramatically slowed down their tempo and continued experimentation across an array of music genres, which started in their 2016 Nosebleed Weekend album. In addition, they have brought to the forefront a more evident socio-political agenda in their lyrics. I like how their sound is closer now to early 1980s post punk bands such as Kleenex/LiLiput or Au Pairs. One of my favorite albums of 2019.

Something else from the press release:
After a summer break of reflection and reassessment, the band regrouped to make an album that captures all the vitality of their early years while honing their individual strengths into new communal achievements. It’s a record that takes their established takes on vitriolic punk, playful house-party anthems, and heartworn ballads and melds them into a new sound that retains all their former live show glories while revealing a new level of songwriting and nuance.

The album title stems from an old adage whispered at a friend’s wedding. We settle when we’re afraid of the unknown. It’s a theme that runs through every song on the album, and even though the band insists they were writing songs about other peoples’ pain, they acknowledge that the old saying applies to their band as well. We get comfortable, we get scared, and we refuse to change. But with The Devil You Know,The Coathangers lost their fear, and that allowed them to shed the baggage of the past.

RIYL: Death Valley Girls, Priests, Au Pairs, The Paranoyds and Kleenex/LiLiput.

FCC WARNING: 2, 4, 7, 9 – Clean version of these tracks available on this CD.
Recommended Tracks: 1, 2 [FCC], 3, 5, 6, 7 [FCC], 8, 10, 11

1. (2:48) **Bimbo – Medium-up tempo. Sweet melody, punky vibe, fast guitars.
2. (2:32)*5 Farms – [FCC: Shitshow]. Medium-up tempo. Classic Coathangers sound. Cool guitar riff.
3. (3:10)*Crimson Telephone – Slow tempo. Punk ballad. Great vocals.
4. (2:57)Hey Buddy – [FCC: Faggot, fuck up, fuck off]. Medium-up tempo. Part post-punk, part garage. Nice guitars.
5. (2:39)***Step Back – Medium tempo. Another classic Coathangers sound track. Goth vibe.
6. (2:45)*Stranger Danger – Medium-up tempo. Part post-punk, part garage. Nice guitars. Trippy vocals.
7. (2:35)***F The NRA – [FCC: Fuck, motherfucker, skank, suck my dick]. Medium-up tempo. Classic Coathangers sound. Killer track. Play clean version.
8. (2:48)***Memories – Fast tempo. Post-punk Coathangers! Solid recording.
9. (3:22)Last Call – [FCC: Fuckin’]. Slow/medium-up tempo. A dense punker passing as ballad. Insense.
10. (2:16)**Stasher – Medium-up tempo. Another startling post-punker here. Solid track.
11. (3:27)*Lithium – Slow tempo. The Coathangers doing a reall ballad here. Enjoyable.
12. (2:31)*5 Farms [Radio Edit] – Medium-up tempo. Classic Coathangers sound.
13. (2:57)Hey Buddy [Radio Edit] – Medium-up tempo. Part post punk, part garage. Nice guitars.
14. (2:35)***F the NRA [Radio Edit] – Medium-up tempo. Classic Coathangers sound. Killer track.
15. (3:22)Last Call [Radio Edit] – Slow/medium-up tempo. A dense punker passing as ballad. Insense.