Overmono’s Pure Devotion Is Dense With Borrowed Voices

Tom and Ed Russell built Overmono’s second album around found, modified, and damaged equipment, but Pure Devotion is defined less by its machinery than by the sheer number of voices passing through it. Much of the record rests on samples from songs released within the last eight years, many of them women, with few credited features. The effect is a chatterbox of filtered vocals set against neo-soul, trap, and modern house.

Compared to the discovery that ran through their 2023 debut Good Lies, the new album feels like a more telegraphed move toward mainstream attention. It is not without strong moments. Nashville vocalist Kindora extends her working relationship with the duo, and “Even Angels Ghost” carries the most immediate weight. “Knight in Shining Prada” sets a tribute by British poet John Joseph Holt to his late brother against intelligent techno, while “Lockup” chops up an old Fast Relief record and “Laxbrook” works as squelching house. But “Balum” and “Mialon” both sample Jax Karis, building soulful electro-balladry on existing electro-balladry without advancing either name. “Ballad” brings Kindora and Rock Floyd together with purposeful tension, though in context it adds to the crowding.

When Pure Devotion touches 2-step and dubstep, Overmono sound closest to their own lane, even if they don’t surpass the pioneers. The album’s premeditated density becomes the hurdle for whatever comes next.