The Return of Eve

Chronique

Devil Doll is Colleen Duffy, an L.A. (where else?) based, sexed up, tattooed down rockabilly mama who also includes classic country and loungy, sultry jazz in her mash-up of genres. As we see from the cover photos, she loves '50s kitsch, high heels, lots of blood red lipstick, her parents and, perhaps most unexpectedly, God, who gets top billing in the thank you section of the credits despite her reliance on sexual metaphors and sensual talk that verges on the kinky. Her sophomore release covers a lot of stylistic territory held together by Duffy's deep, velvety vocals and a great batch of backing musicians who connect the dots between the genres. She seems torn between heavenly faith and the demon in her moniker with lots of religious references in the album's notes that stand in stark contrast to the "f" bombs she scatters like a vixen Johnny Appleseed. It might be schtick, but it's an effective one, mostly because she backs up the va-va-voom visuals and lyrics with a solid set of songs that sizzle like bacon in a fry pan. Duffy purrs, hums, and slithers through red-light tunes such as "The Way You Do" ("when you touch me baby, I get so wet") and the self-explanatory "Sexy" with a mixture of tough and tender, but an emphasis on the former. The slow rocking "Open Road" is exciting even without the vocals, but when she moans "I'll make you tremble, I'll make you sweat," it'll raise the temperature in any room a few degrees. All but three tracks are originals with a cover of Otis Blackwell's classic "Fever" a somewhat obvious choice that Duffy still nails in her typical hot-blooded fashion, changing lips to hips for added spice. There is a retro thread running through the songs, especially the rockin' rave-ups and the '50s slow dance of "Sweet Lorraine," but this isn't stuck in any one decade thanks to rich production directed by Duffy, who is listed as "executive producer." Although the album references Eve, it's more a product of the Garden of Eden's snake and all the better for it.
© Hal Horowitz /TiVo