Euphoria

iTunes Review

Los Angeles musician Devon Williams recorded for Epitaph Records with punk-pop outfit Osker and later moved into folkier territory with his band Fingers Cut Megamachine. His first outing as a solo artist, Carefree, felt like a California pop artist trying out strings and jangly guitars with the slightest sense of trepidation. For Euphoria, Williams has honed his vocal sound to a more pure, slightly sweeter tone — as if he’s fully embracing his pop essence — and traded in baroque tendencies for a lighter, SoCal pysch vibe. Though “Slight Pain” features weepy strings and a bit of flute, and woodwinds inject air into the buttercream fluff of “Revelations,” the core of Euphoria is just that — breezy and effervescent, with reverbed guitars and bubbling bass lines lending a whiff of vintage charm. Now and then Williams’ power-pop heart shows itself (“Your Sympathy” and “Right Direction”), but for the most part, he’s found a way to meld two classics from distinctly divergent musical camps — The Smiths (British, ‘80s) and Big Star (American, ‘70s) — and that’s no easy task.