The Dave Matthews Band has always been a favored "too" target of elitist music geeks -- too corporate, too banal, too many frat boys in the audience. Those criticisms have merit, but the cool kids refuse to concede that the band is an engaging live act that's amassed a strong catalog of worthwhile material. Billed as Matthews' solo debut, SomeDevil sounds just like every other DMB release, minus almost every trace of passion and energy. Devil isn't low-key; it's downright somber, weeping with barren, dirgelike tone poems that lack the spirited élan and pop savvy that are his band's stock in trade. Even "Dodo," which skitters dangerously close to Jimmy Buffet territory, sounds like a razor blade to the wrist, and a full-blown gospel chorus on "Save Me" fails to shift things out of second gear. That the usual DMB players are replaced by the likes of Phisherman Trey Anastasio and a bunch of studio hacks doesn't help. By issuing his least interesting effort to date, Matthews continues to free-fall from his mid-'90s creative peak. Some blame granola-chomping young bucks such as John Mayer and Jason Mraz for Pied Pipering the DMB's audience straight to the bank, but Matthews seems to be playing the key role in his own demise.
