That Handsome Devil, often shortened to THD, is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, by way of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. The band mixes genres such as

, funk,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, jive, blues, surf,

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, and psychedelic. Their sound has also been described as "equal parts Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, bizarre electronica, creepy hip hop and in-your-face gonzo rock".

Gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane G ...

has been used in description of the band while frontman Godforbid describes the band's music as "fringe pop".

History

The band was founded by Godforbid and Jeremy Page. Predating the band's existence, they were both members of the hip hop group Alaskan Fishermen, along with Thirstin' Howl III and Father Time. That Handsome Devil released their first single "Dating Tips" in 2004, which featured the songs "Dating Tips", "How to Get Money", and "Don't Go". In 2006, the band released their eponymous debut EP ''That Handsome Devil'', which included the single "Dating Tips". "Elephant Bones", the fourth track on the album, was featured as a bonus song in ''

Guitar Hero II ''Guitar Hero II'' is a music rhythm video game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the second main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' series and is the sequel to 2005 ...

''. Their first studio album, '' A City Dressed in Dynamite'', was released in 2008 to several positive reviews, being praised by Amplifier Magazine as "a madcap musical frenzy as dizzying as it is dazzling". With music as stylistically varied as their last release, the album expanded on the band's themes of

emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression, loneliness, anhedonia, despair, or other mental/emotional disorders, including schizoid ...

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

, materialism, and

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, and featured their trademark of dated

sound bites A sound bite or soundbite is a short clip of speech or music extracted from a longer piece of audio, often used to promote or exemplify the full length piece. In the context of journalism, a sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence ...

from the 1950s. A portion of "Mexico" was featured in the seventh episode of season four of ''Weeds'', "Yes I Can", before ''A City Dressed in Dynamite'' was released. "Rob the Prez-O-Dent" was featured as a playable track in '' Rock Band 2''. This, along with the appearance of "Elephant Bones" in ''Guitar Hero II'', increased their visibility despite the band never having released a full-length album before In 2009, their second EP, ''Enlightenment's For Suckers,'' was released. That Handsome Devil went on a national tour named "Hating New People" in the summer of 2010, where they sold small-print discs of previously unreleased singles and covers. In 2011, That Handsome Devil released their third album, '' The Heart Goes to Heaven, The Head Goes to Hell'', to favorable reviews from fans and critics. The band supported the album with a tour and the launch of an independent website. The album was financed in part by a fundraising effort on project startup service Kickstarter, raising $6,013 after a month. That Handsome Devil announced their fourth EP, ''The Jungle Book'', in 2012, available for free on their website. The album consists of covers of several songs from the original Disney movie. In September 2014, That Handsome Devil released the first single, "$=❤", from their forthcoming album. In November, The band released the album ''Drugs & Guns For Everyone'' on their YouTube channel.

Band members

* Christian James Oppel – vocals, songwriter * Jeremy Page – guitar, bass, keyboard, banjo, pedal steel guitar, glockenspiel, percussion, accordion, synthesizer, kazoo, backing vocals, songwriter * Naoko Takamoto – backing vocals * Evan Sanders – keyboard, trumpet, trombone * Jeremy Siegel – bass, backing vocals * Sam Merrick – drums * Andy Bauer – drums, percussion, accordion, guitar, backing vocals * Deflon Sallahr – hype man

Discography

Studio albums

* ''That Handsome Devil'' (2006) * '' A City Dressed in Dynamite'' (2008) * '' The Heart Goes to Heaven, The Head Goes to Hell'' (2011) * ''Drugs & Guns For Everyone'' (2014) * ''Your Parents Are Sellouts'' (2021)

EPs

* ''That Handsome Devil'' (2006) * ''Enlightenment's For Suckers'' (2009) * ''Hating New People'' (2010) * ''The Jungle Book'' (2012) * ''History is a Suicide Note'' (2017)

Singles

* "Dating Tips/How to Get Money/Don't Go" (2004) * "Steady and Slow" (2007) * "Hey White Boy" (2007) * "Lucky Me" (2008) * " Mr. Grinch" (2008) * "Chicken Claw" (2009) * "Marilyn Loves Heroin" (2009) * "Disco City" (2009) * "How to Get More Money (And Not Have to Shoot Somebody)" (2011)

References

External links

*MacNeil, Jason (2008)
That Handsome Devil ''A City Dressed In Dynamite''
, ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' {{Authority control Alternative hip hop groups Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts Musical groups from Boston