DEVO

One of new wave’s most forward-thinking outfits, Devo emerged from the Midwestern underground during the 1970s, carrying an art-school-bred, self-fashioned worldview that quickly reached a broad public. Born from the concept they labeled “de-evolution,” the Akron, Ohio quartet fused biting social commentary and quirky wit with meticulously crafted visuals, momentarily reaching the charts via 1980’s Freedom of Choice and its hit single “Whip It,” whose low-budget clip turned into a regular feature on the newly launched MTV. Their spasmodic, machine-like grooves, matching outfits, and preoccupation with “little minds through big technology” stood apart from everything else on the pop map, even if the more theatrical aspects prompted some reviewers to label them a mere novelty act. Though mainstream traction faded by the late ’80s, Devo’s reputation expanded across subsequent decades into that of a deeply influential cult act with a devoted following. Through periodic reunions and fresh lineups they kept pushing their sound into the twenty-first century, scoring films and advertisements, issuing a video game, and even partnering with Disney on a tween-fronted iteration called DEV2.0. 2010’s Something for Everybody ended a long studio silence, while 2023’s 50 Years of De-Evolution 1973-2023 offered a comprehensive retrospective marking their fiftieth anniversary.

Art students Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh attended Kent State University in the early 1970s. Alongside friend Bob Lewis—who appeared in an early lineup and later managed the group—they formulated the “de-evolution” outlook, arguing that humanity was sliding backward rather than advancing, a claim they tied to the conformity and contradictions of American life. The theory gained sharper definition after they encountered the book The Beginning Was the End: Knowledge Can Be Eaten, which posited that people descended from mutant, brain-eating apes. The three reshaped the idea to portray society as a rigid, binary system of control that turned citizens into interchangeable drones moving with factory-like regularity and rejecting nuance. What began as an elaborate gag took on sudden weight when the band witnessed National Guard troops firing on student demonstrators at the university, lending the concept an undeniable urgency.

Devo’s first stable configuration coalesced in 1973, featuring Casale on bass, Mark Mothersbaugh on vocals, Mark’s brothers Bob on lead guitar and Jim on homemade electronic drums. Jerry’s sibling Bob Casale soon joined on guitar, while Jim departed and Alan Myers took over the drum chair. The musicians refined their approach for several years—a stretch later documented on Rykodisc’s Hardcore anthologies of home tapes—issuing occasional singles on their own Booji Boy imprint and layering on further eccentric motifs: Mothersbaugh performed as Booji Boy (pronounced “boogie boy”) in an infant mask representing arrested development; potatoes recurred as emblems of faceless uniformity; identical clone costumes and processed hair became visual signatures; and recordings incorporated both commercial and handmade synthesizers alongside toys, space heaters, toasters, and other household objects. Their initial major opportunity arrived when the short film The Truth About De-Evolution earned an award at the 1976 Ann Arbor Film Festival; David Bowie and Iggy Pop caught the screening and helped secure a Warner Bros. deal.

Produced by Brian Eno, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! registered as a rallying cry for some listeners and found an underground audience. Others perceived the group’s sound, imagery, and lyrics as menacing; Rolling Stone, for instance, branded them fascists. Such attacks overlooked the band’s intent to dramatize conformity, emotional suppression, and mechanization precisely in order to critique them.

Although 1979’s Duty Now for the Future remained a solid effort, 1980’s Freedom of Choice delivered the commercial breakthrough with its gold-certified single “Whip It” and represented a high point in their occasionally uneven catalog. The accompanying video became an MTV phenomenon, contrasting the band’s thrift-store futurism with a rural farm backdrop and subtle S&M overtones. With this release Devo unveiled one of their most enduring visual trademarks, the red plastic terraced “energy dome” hat that would become synonymous with their identity.

Already uneasy with their sudden worldwide profile, the group pivoted sharply on 1981’s New Traditionalists, a generally somber and earnest set whose lead track “Through Being Cool” served as an explicit rejoinder to their fame. That year they also supplied a characteristically rigid cover of Lee Dorsey’s “Working in the Coal Mine” for the film Heavy Metal and backed singer Toni Basil on her debut album Word of Mouth. Additional controversies surfaced: Bob Lewis won a lawsuit over intellectual-property theft after a tape surfaced in which Mothersbaugh credited Lewis with originating the de-evolution concept, and sessions for 1982’s Oh, No! It’s Devo were complicated by a misguided plan to incorporate poetry written by would-be Ronald Reagan assassin John Hinckley, Jr.

As the decade progressed, Devo slipped back into cult status and critical neglect. 1984’s Shout made little impression, prompting Warner Bros. to drop them. With the band’s move toward programmed drums, Alan Myers exited in 1986 and was replaced by former Sparks and Gleaming Spires drummer David Kendrick. After Rykodisc’s 1987 reissue of the fan-club-only E-Z Listening Disc—a set of easy-listening arrangements—Devo issued their seventh album, 1988’s Total Devo, on Enigma.

Two years later, Smooth Noodle Maps closed the band’s original chapter. Poor sales and Enigma’s bankruptcy led to an incomplete tour and an eventual split. By the early ’90s most members had turned to outside work: Mark Mothersbaugh scored commercials and films, created themes for MTV’s Liquid Television, Nickelodeon’s Rugrats, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, and the Jonathan Winters sitcom Davis Rules, played keyboards with the Rolling Stones, programmed synthesizers for Sheena Easton, sang backup for Debbie Harry, and, beginning with 1996’s Bottle Rocket, established a fruitful partnership with director Wes Anderson. Capitalizing on that momentum, Mothersbaugh founded the production company Mutato Muzika, which employed several fellow Devo members. Jerry Casale, who had directed most of the band’s videos, went on to helm clips for Rush, Foo Fighters, and Soundgarden.

Unexpectedly, as Devo’s legend deepened and other acts cited their influence—Nirvana covered “Turnaround,” while “Girl U Want” was recorded by Soundgarden, Superchunk, and Robert Palmer—their spare electro-pop resurfaced for six dates on the 1996 Lollapalooza tour to an enthusiastic reception.

The following year the band released a CD-ROM game, The Adventures of the Smart Patrol, along with its soundtrack, and performed additional Lollapalooza dates. Two double-disc anthologies appeared in 2000: Pioneers Who Got Scalped: The Anthology for Rhino, mixing hits and rarities, and the limited-edition mail-order set Recombo DNA for Rhino Handmade, devoted entirely to unreleased demos. In 2001 the Mothersbaugh and Casale brothers reunited briefly as the Wipeouters for the surf album P’Twaaang!!! Casale launched his Jihad Jerry & the Evildoers project with 2006’s Mine Is Not a Holy War. That same year Devo collaborated with Disney on DEV2.0, a project in which preteens re-recorded classic tracks with lyrics revised for family audiences.

Devo resumed issuing original material with the 2007 single “Watch Us Work It,” though a promised full album stalled. In 2008 they returned to Akron for a rare benefit concert supporting Barack Obama’s presidential bid, directing proceeds to the Summit County Democratic Party. Following deluxe 2009 reissues of Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! and Freedom of Choice that sent them back on the road performing those albums in full, work resumed on new songs. An online fan vote selecting the twelve tracks shaped 2010’s Something for Everybody, their first studio album in two decades. Shortly before the 2013 release of the 2000s rarities collection Something Else for Everybody, original drummer Alan Myers succumbed to stomach cancer. Less than a year later, founding guitarist Bob Casale died of heart failure. Devo completed their Hardcore Devo tour of 2014 with Josh Hager stepping in for Casale’s parts; a live album and DVD titled Hardcore Devo Live! appeared in 2015. Entering the next decade, the group remained in archival mode, appearing in the 2021 documentary Devolution: A Devo Theory, playing occasional shows, and reviving the annual Cleveland fan convention Devotion.

While touring what they hinted might be their final run of dates, Devo marked a half-century of creative nonconformity in 2023 with 50 Years of De-Evolution 1973-2023, a career-spanning collection that paired well-known tracks with unreleased demos, scarce B-sides, and remixes. The set was issued in multiple formats, including a two-CD edition and a deluxe four-LP vinyl package featuring elaborate artwork, an air freshener reproducing the Oh, No! It’s Devo cover, and a cardboard replica of the signature Energy Dome. Two further archival box sets arrived in 2024. Art Devo, released in September, compiled rare and unreleased early material—demos, basement recordings, and live tapes—from 1973 through 1977. In December, Futurismo Records issued a deluxe expanded edition of Recombo DNA, expanding on Rhino Handmade’s 2000 anthology of unreleased studio demos and live recordings.