Features and Press
New Artist Reviews: May Devun
Morena Duwe, Huffington Post
Soaked in drama, epic in scale, and profoundly woeful, Devun's new solo album is honest and pure. With no holding back, she masterfully crafts an album that is as heavy as it is delicate. Listeners can easily become lost and entranced by her hypnotic voice, manifesting each note of her music into an emotion. Her talent is apparent in her vast vocal range and knack for songwriting. Just at the beginning of her new solo career, there is no telling where her musical evolution will take her. Like the penumbra of the horizon at twilight, Devun revels in the shadows while still looking to the light.
May Devun - It's May Day
ToneSwep, SEXEE Mag
She has the look, the feel, the presence, and the vibe, all encapsulated on one soulful album called Penumbra Lounge, where Devun's subtle reminders of Janis Joplin, and earthquaking echoes of Joss Stone, meld seamlessly with remnant Fiona Apple aura and Elle King edge-aptitude. May Devun is necessary, we need to meet with her for music and experience her excited sadness in all of its rain-bowing grayscale. Penumbra Lounge is the meeting place, don't miss out on your own mashup.
Album Review: Penumbra Lounge by May Devun | FFO: Evanescence, Esthero, Adele
RJ Frometa, Vents Magazine
Beautiful. Epic. Honest. Fresh. These are just a few of the words I associate with May Devun from Los Angeles, in regards to her new album Penumbra Lounge. I know, I set the bar high with that opening, but trust me when I say that she deserves any accolade she receives for putting together such a smooth and professionally mixed album...
May Devun’s ‘Penumbra Lounge’ is a Jazzy Cool R&B Revelation
Tavon Perkins, Rant Hollywood
Indie R&B singer/songwriter May Devun has a stellar new record out called, ‘Penumbra Lounge’. The Los Angeles based artist’s new album is filled with sorrowful love songs erupting with the emotion and angst of a woman ready to confess her innermost fragile secrets...As for Devun’s voice, the only thing needing to be said is it’s powerful and on point. Whatever note you need her to hit to get the message across, she’s going to hit it and blow it away. Devun’s voice is as pure in purpose as her soulful lyrical testimony. Her voice brings back memories of Mariah Carey’s equally powerful voice, in the sense she knows when to turn it up and shift into diva gear...
May Devun - "We Walk Alone"
Kaitlin Ruether, New Sick Music
May Devun is striking. Her music is powerful, her story — she was previously an acclaimed prog-metal guitarist before she felt the R&B call — is remarkable, and the way she pulls a dark, smokey atmosphere into her album where it gracefully wraps around each song is nothing short of stunning. Check out her track, “We Walk Alone”, and feel each element of what draws this album together...
May Devun’s Penumbra Lounger
R.B. Sloane, Scallywag Magazine
Step into the world of May Devun. Her new record, Penumbra Lounge, is all atmosphere and smoke, full of big vocals and epic ballads. Devun’s power is in her ability to craft songs that elicit strong emotions from the listeners. The record at times is full on jazz club intimate, slightly off-kilter arrangements, baroque, and stage ready anthems. She’s vocally as strong as any singer out there. She’s definitely on the same level as Christina Aguilera. Given that she’s had a successful prog metal career, to say Devun is talented is a bit of an understatement.The artist is made for any genre, really. When you got it, you got it.
May Devun - Penumbra Lounge
Beach Sloth
May Devun does it all and does it right on “Penumbra Lounge” from deeply felt R&B to powerful pop. Her undeniably strong voice serves as the heart of the album. Soulful in tone the songs revolve around her passionate delivery. Thematically the songs deal with the universal difficulties of love. At times full of joy, at times bringing the utmost sense of despair, May Devun’s poetic lyrics deal with the entire gamut of emotions coming from this oftentimes impossible to understand feeling. Arrangements match her performance impeccably veering from industrial hued to the jazzy...
May Devun - Penumbra Lounge Album Review
Randy Radic, Contact Music
May Devun's foray into R&B dropped October 23; it's called 'Penumbra Lounge'. And it's excellent stuff. The album was mixed and engineered by Doug Grean, who knows what he is about. Devun's style can be described as Baroque-Pop amalgamated with R&B. And she is capable of pulling it off because of her powerful voice...In fact, vocally, Devun is a member of an exclusive group: strong female voices capable of blowing listeners away, women whose voices transcend all ordinary degrees of range and phrasing. Divas like Adele and Liz Hale. Put simply, Devun's voice is sensual, intense and potent, like aged single malt whiskey.
Urban Music Crown: Penumbra Lounge - May Devun
Tracey Dawkins, Music Crowns
At the complete opposite end of the musical spectrum, the album is described as displaying flashes of alternative soul, R&B and ‘Baroque pop’ and with occasionally stripped back performances often executed by the sweetness of the piano. Released on Friday, “Penumbra Lounge” starts off with “Echoes in the Dark”. Showcasing an intense, downtempo bassline with atmospheric overtones, May’s mysterious vocals makes the whole composition captivating...