Like one of the characters in the fantasy novels that inspire her, LA-based singer/songwriter Devon Thompson’s fate lay preordained when she attended a Tool concert with her mother… while still in the womb.
Thompson, 22, who dropped the Skin EP in early May, spoke to Glide on Zoom from her home in LA about songwriting, inspiration, and translating songs from record to live performance.
Her music has a timeless rock quality: catchy choruses and distorted guitars. It doesn’t play the microgenre game but is, instead, simply quality writing.
What sets her apart is the way Thompson presents her image straight out of the world of the fantasy that she loves. Check out Thompson’s eye-dripping blood on the cover of Skin if you need evidence.
Dark fantasy box? Checked.
When the album was released, she said “This year I have been abusing (my skin) with all the guitar playing and my tattoos, so it only felt fair to dedicate some of the most painful songs to it.”
This aesthetic is fully on display in both the song and video for “Straightjacket,” one of Thompson’s two favorite songs from the record.
Rock had more cachet in the days Thompson is pulling from. Will we get back to guitar rock dominating the charts?
“I think that the genre itself is kind of pushed to the back by major corporations because it’s people who aren’t afraid to speak their mind about things,” she said. “They’re more honest and they’re more real.”
“We’re not just talking about Kanye West and some chick,” she added. “Literally who cares about their music. They are not making music for you.”
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
When did you first start playing live?
I have been performing live since musical theater in third or fourth grade. But with my guitar, I started doing coffee houses and coffee shops when I was like 13. I played at a place in North Hollywood called Republic of Pie. They allowed me to play an hour-long set. And that was a big deal for me. We had 50 people come to a small coffee shop.
An hour is a long time for a first-time performer.
I was stressing. I was like, I’m gonna mess up. And I did, but it was great. I still have video of that. And then from there on out, I just started performing places occasionally. It wasn’t till I was 16 that I wanted to start a band.
Who would you say are your biggest influences musical influences on this EP?
For this EP, I’d say it’s a mix of Paramore, The Cure and Mazzy Star. And then also, I really like this band Metric. I really miss that era of music.
As far as the content goes, are your songs autobiographical? Are you writing more from a character point of view?
This EP specifically was extremely character driven. None of these songs were really about me, except for “I Love You But It Hurts Like Hell.” Every other song was written about someone and someone else or a fictional tale, because I’m such a big reader and I’m such a big fantasy lover. I’m a big storyteller. I like adding that aspect into alternative rock. It doesn’t have to be just Taylor Swift doing it.
What are some of your favorite novels?
Well, I do dabble in a lot of romance, which is why some of my songs are very kinky sounding. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas is really popular right now. And that’s a book that I love. And that definitely inspired my songwriting and a lot of different aspects of it.
I thought Maas did urban fantasy like Crescent City?
A Court of Thorns and Roses is like smut. Crescent City is not a romance novel.
You’ve said that “beautiful violence” is the theme of the EP. And you mentioned tattoos. We’ve all seen the news. Sometimes it’s hard to call violence beautiful.
Not that kind of violence!
So tell me more about the kind of violence you’re talking about. Tell me more about beautiful violence. It’s an interesting turn of phrase.
It more with the literature I’ve been reading. It’s more about a pain and pleasure thing. Nothing to do with war. It has nothing to do with real life anything. It’s a poetic sense of dabbling in the two. “So Close” is from the point of view of serial killer who thinks their lover on a headstone with flowers is beautiful.
What’s your favorite song on your new EP? Which one is the closest to your heart?
Honestly, I personally love “Straitjacket” for what it is, because it combines so many elements of different types of music that come together. And also “I Love You But It Hurts Like Hell.”
What do you like about “I Love You?”
It’s very reminiscent of how I sound live, which I feel like none of my other songs fully portray. And it’s where my heart is at: rock and alternative rock. And that song has gotten the most action at college radio. It’s my top song on Spotify for no reason. And I have put little to no thought or promotion into that song ever. And it’s done its own thing. I think that’s a testament to my style and what I’m good at.
What’s your live instrumentation? You were in a band in high school, but this is a solo project. You did an acoustic gig at The Viper Room recently. Despite that, you’ll be supporting Skin with band gigs. Drums and bass, I guess? The record sounds like you need a synth player.
I play all my music very, very differently, very rock, very hardcore live. If there are keys, I’ll play the synth line on guitar as a guitar riff. But we really just strip it down to three instruments. There’s no backing tracks. It’s just us. And I think that the best results we’ve gotten have just been because we’re so raw. It’s very stripped down. I think that people appreciate it.
Guitar, bass and drums. That’s it. A power trio, basically.
Literally, it’s a power trio. It’s extremely hard to be a power trio, which is why you don’t see trios anymore. People cannot do it. Like, it’s impossibly hard. And I’m a lead singer, too. People do not give enough credit to trios.
Maybe you can bust out some Rush covers.
Yeah, we could. That’s right. There’s Rush.
Talk about hard to pull off.
Oh my God.
