That Handsome Devil, often shortened to THD, is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, by way of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. The band mixes genres such as

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, jive,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, surf,

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

, rap, and psychedelic. Their sound has also been described as "equal parts Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, bizarre

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

, creepy

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and in-your-face gonzo rock".

Gypsy jazz Gypsy jazz (also known as sinti jazz, gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a musical idiom inspired by the Romani people, Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–1953), in conjunction with the Fr ...

has been used in description of the band while frontman Godforbid describes the band's music as "fringe pop".

History

The band was founded by Christian James "Godforbid" Oppel and Jeremy Page. Predating the band's existence, they were both members of the hip-hop group Alaskan Fishermen, along with Thirstin’ Howl III and Father Time. That Handsome Devil released their first single "Dating Tips" in 2004, which featured the songs "Dating Tips", "How to Get Money", and "Don't Go". In 2006, the band released their eponymous debut EP ''That Handsome Devil'', which included the single "Dating Tips". "Elephant Bones", the fourth track on the album, was featured as a bonus song in ''

Guitar Hero II ''Guitar Hero II'' is a 2006 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 and Activision for the Xbox 360. It is the sequel to ''Guitar Hero (video game), Guitar Hero'' (2005) and the second installment in t ...

''. Their first studio album, ''A City Dressed in Dynamite'', was released in 2008 to several positive reviews, being praised by Amplifier Magazine as "a madcap musical frenzy as dizzying as it is dazzling". With music as stylistically varied as their last release, the album expanded on the band's themes of

emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or o ...

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

materialism Materialism is a form of monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...

, and

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, and featured their trademark of dated

sound bite A sound bite or soundbite is a short clip of speech or music extracted from a longer piece of audio, often used to promote or exemplify the full-length piece. In the context of journalism, a sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence ...

s from the 1950s. A portion of "Mexico" was featured in the seventh episode of season four of ''Weeds'', "Yes I Can", before ''A City Dressed in Dynamite'' was released. "Rob the Prez-O-Dent" was featured as a playable track in ''

Rock Band 2 ''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...

''. This, along with the appearance of "Elephant Bones" in ''Guitar Hero II'', increased their visibility despite the band never having released a full-length album before. In 2009, their second EP, ''Enlightenment's for Suckers,'' was released. That Handsome Devil went on a national tour named "Hating New People" in the summer of 2010, where they sold small-print discs of previously unreleased singles and covers. In 2011, That Handsome Devil released their third album, ''The Heart Goes to Heaven, The Head Goes to Hell'', to favorable reviews. this album including their most listened to track "Charlie's Inferno". The band supported the album with a tour and the launch of an independent website. The album was financed in part by a fundraising effort on project startup service

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

, raising $6,013 after a month. That Handsome Devil announced their fourth EP, ''The Jungle Book'', in 2012, available for free on their website. The album consists of covers of several songs from the original Disney movie. In September 2014, That Handsome Devil released the first single, "$=♡", from their forthcoming album. In November, the band released the album ''Drugs & Guns For Everyone'' on their YouTube channel. In April of 2017, That Handsome Devil released the EP '' History is a Suicide Note '' on Bandcamp. The album notably contains heavy political theming in the songs "Pendulumonium" and "Savages", with the latter and a song "Emergency" from the same album having a music video created for them. In 2021, ''Your Parents are Sellouts'' was released as a studio album. The album features themes of crime, such as drug possession, and violence, especially in young people, clearly separating their thoughts from those of older generations. On 25 October 2024, the band released their next album, ''Exploitopia''. The album covers themes involving religion and continues the band's long tradition of references to addiction and death.

Band members

* Christian James "Godforbid" Oppel – vocals, songwriter * Jeremy Page – guitar,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, keyboard, banjo, pedal steel guitar, glockenspiel, percussion, accordion, synthesizer, kazoo, backing vocals, songwriter * Naoko Takamoto – backing vocals * Evan Sanders – keyboard, trumpet, trombone * Jeremy Siegel – bass, backing vocals * Sam Merrick – drums * Andy Bauer – drums, percussion, accordion, guitar, backing vocals * Deflon Sallahr – hype man

Discography

Studio albums

* ''That Handsome Devil'' (2006) * ''A City Dressed in Dynamite'' (2008) * ''The Heart Goes to Heaven, The Head Goes to Hell'' (2011) * ''Drugs & Guns For Everyone'' (2014) * ''Your Parents Are Sellouts'' (2021) * ''Exploitopia'' (2024)

EPs

* ''That Handsome Devil'' (2006) * ''Enlightenment's For Suckers'' (2009) * ''Hating New People'' (2010) * ''The Jungle Book'' (2012) * ''History is a Suicide Note'' (2017)

Singles

* "Face In The Sun" (2003) * "Dating Tips/How to Get Money/Don't Go" (2004) * "Steady and Slow" (2007) * "Hey White Boy" (2007) * "Lucky Me" (2008) * " Mr. Grinch" (2008) * "Chicken Claw" (2009) * "Marilyn Loves Heroin" (2009) * "Disco City" (2009) * "How to Get More Money (And Not Have to Shoot Somebody)" (2011) * "Ode to the scumbag" (2025)

References

External links

*MacNeil, Jason (2008)
That Handsome Devil ''A City Dressed In Dynamite''
, ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' {{Authority control Alternative hip-hop groups Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts Musical groups from Boston