On their first album in seven years, The Devil Makes Three strips down the arrangements on their new album “Spirits” and lets the lyrics supply most of the muscle. The trio has a unique approach to Americana music with no drums but lots of acoustic charisma.
Lead singer Pete Bernhard says “We wanted to use these musical forms to talk about current issues, we didn’t want to just sing about trains and mining and drinking. For myself, it didn’t seem relevant. Folk music should be about what’s happening now, just as it was when Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan did it. Our music is not just a re-enactment of something old and dusty.”
Bernhard went through some tough times in the making of this album with the loss of his mother, brother and childhood best friend and the theme of grieving comes up a lot in conjunction with hard times that everyone’s feeling these days.
The Devil Makes Three deliver a powerful message on the new album “Spirits”, the songs encourage strength, perseverence and determination, values that, in their deceptively simple way, can help tackle life’s obstacles.