"Lookin' For A Devil" by Ben Gage is a living, breathing piece of Americana, clad in boots dusty from the road and imbued with the soul of old-time country. It vibrates with the soul of an artist who is not in pursuit of the perfect song, but rather moments. But that is precisely what makes it so unforgettable.
Recorded live-takes raw, flawed, and all the more real for it, "Lookin' For A Devil" delves into that well-worn yarn of desperation and dealings with the devil. The story inverts expectations, anchoring the song in the most human of frustrations.
The instrumentation is acoustic and toned down throughout, yet it remains full-bodied. Gage leans into the crackle of strings, the tension of space, allowing the stops between notes to resonate as loud as the words. You can practically hear the room it was recorded in, the stomp of someone's boot, the rattle of breath before a verse. It's personal, it's immediate, and it's unadorned.
This is single number four from Gage's forthcoming full-length album, which is due in September. So far, each release feels like a breadcrumb that continues to lead you deeper into his musical world. "Lookin' For A Devil" might be the most introspective of all, a song that grapples with being unsupported, not only by people, but by destiny itself. It gets some of the static of the world that can't seem to slow down, and the artist who keeps moving through it anyway.
And for anyone feeling untethered from reality, from the news, from the noise of contemporary American life, this song is an act of quiet revolution. Gage isn't shouting to be heard so much as singing, so honestly, you have to lean in. Then again, "Lookin' For A Devil" is a reminder that song still finds its place, even when no one's listening, and it finds us.
Reviewed by LyricalOdyssey Music
on
July 21, 2025
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