Some bands get better with time — Devo is one of them. It takes time catching up with some bands. In the ‘70s-‘80s, for all their de-evolved sloganeering, Devo were an internet-ready band ahead of the internet. They were a band as a meme, still perfectly bouncy and good as pop music, but ultimately a message band with intellect and a uniquely funny presentation. Devo have always been big in Seattle, a city that has always matched that forward-leaning energy, as they amassed a large cult following here — Mark Arm of Mudhoney lists a Devo show as one of the most influential moments in his development, so you can say they influenced the whole scene — and so, a Devo documentary comes as a welcome event for SIFF DocFest, in a city that has always loved its left-of-center arts.
The most important thing is that a documentary captures that alternative energy that Devo had. An alternative before there was an Alternative to anything. They were always a visual-forward band: take the caution-colored sci-fi wardrobes, the ziggurat-shaped Energy Dome hats, Devo were always a whole aesthetic vibe unto themselves.
So, it’s important that a documentary would work around the arts in visualizing what the band was like. Documentarian Chris Smith is just the right person for the job. Taking notes from his 1999 hit American Movie, which traces the work of an unlikely film director making peculiar art, Smith is the right person to create a vivid portrait of outsider art.
We get the direct-to-camera talking heads stuff that typifies most music documentaries. Some of that is just necessary to tell a story, sometimes, and it’s welcome, because the interviews here are authentic and exuberant about the band. We’re also treated to a very cinematic telling of the band, as one of the first music video bands, that leans into visual language in its non-fiction storytelling. It’s important that the approach just fits the subject, here.
Devo is worthy of the band. It’s a very good take on successful outsider art. The documentary convinces us that Devo were always ready for our present moment. That they were on the cusp of some future-music, like so many of the sounds of new wave artists, a time where music jumped forward and became an audiovisual art. Devo captures all that with affectionate attention for an oddball act that really seeks to understand the music and vibe beyond the surface level.