Between The Devil & Two Black Hearts - 8mm

Between The Devil & Two Black Hearts is 8mm’s best and most diversified album yet, as the duo of Sean Beavan and Juliette Beavan have written some spectacular songs that are at times imaginative and more ethereal like “Glimmering,” and at other times are explosive, such as “Kin,” with its thundering guitar riffs by Sean Beavan and heavy drum beats by Jon Nicholson.  Whereas past 8mm albums only featured Juliette Beavan’s seductive and edgy vocals, on Between The Devil & Two Black Hearts, Sean Beavan’s vocals are prominently displayed with songs such as “The Weight Of You,” “Everybody Says,” and on the title song.  Sean’s voice has a rasp to it that is appealing and contrasts nicely with Juliette’s vocals.

Less informed music fans might be quick to judge this album as being a little short on music, because there are eight songs. Think again, first of all there is only one tune under four minutes and secondly there is not one filler song on this record. These songs are well crafted and accomplish what a good album should, leaving you with your tongue hanging down to your knees, as you salivate waiting for the next 8mm album. Besides back in the day a LP (vinyl for you youngsters) often only had ten songs on it and even then there were some duds. 8mm will also be releasing a vinyl edition of this album in November.

One of the two real jewels from Between The Devil & Two Black Hearts is “The Weight Of You,” which paints a somewhat ominous picture of death from a personal perspective. Sean Beavan sings the first part of the song, which starts off slowly and the tempo builds to the mid-point of the 4:06 song, when it really starts to rock out. At this juncture Juliette ups the ante with a gritty, rocking vocal and uses the metaphor of death for the dying of a relationship. In the first half of the song we have a man dying alone and in the second half of the song Juliette Beavan paints a stark image of a deserted relationship and heartbreak with words like, “farewell my dear heart and my soul aches,” “damn my arms ache for you,” and “damn my lips are calling you.”  Sean and Juliette’s voices and their respective themes merge, almost forming a ghoulish round. In reading this you probably think of the song as dark and depressing and it is anything but that. No amount of words describing this song can do justice to the brilliance of the songwriting by both artists and the mix created by Sean Beavan.

The other crown jewel is “Around The Sun,” a signature 8mm song with stunningly beautiful vocals by Juliette Beavan, a song that lures you in, you close your eyes and your body moves slowly, rhythmically to the music. The guitars, as always are splendid. Sean Beavan who has built a reputation as a brilliant producer and sound engineer for artists such as Guns N’ Roses, Depeche Mode, No Doubt, Slayer and P.O.D, also demonstrates his brilliance as a musician, with stellar guitar work. It is also Sean Beavan’s electric bass that you heard on the classic Eric Carmen (The Raspberries) tune “Hungry Eyes, “from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.

There is a very Southwest Rock bent to “Everybody Says,” think more along the line of early The Eagles feel, with Dave Philips’ pedal steel guitar adding to the feel and Sean Beavan’s acoustic guitar setting the mood. Juliette Beavan slides easily into this new vocal styling and hardcore 8mm fans may not like hearing us say this, but we hope that in the future we have the opportunity to listen to more songs from them like this. “Everybody Says,” is a really, really good song. It is a crossover tune, without the ghastly commercialized hooks and overproduction. This is a beautiful song, sung with authenticity and frankly this writer thinks this may very well be the best vocal performance of Juliette Beavan in the five years or so that we have known 8mm.

Between The Devil & Two Black Hearts is by far the best album that 8mm has released. This album expands their audience, while preserving the same ingenious songwriting, maximizing Juliette Beavan’s voice and the hope is that we will hear more of Sean Beavan singing on future albums. More than anything else Between The Devil & Two Black Hearts is very accessible to the listener.

You can listen to music by 8mm and purchase the music their new album on their website. 

Reviewed by Joe Montague

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