War is constant, politics hinder social progression, individuals prioritize financial gain over others, humans are devolving. This apparent downward spiral had culminated in Gerald Casale's life when two of his friends were shot and killed during the Kent State Massacre. During the aftermath of this moving event, Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh along with other bandmates, decided to start their own movement in art. One in which emphasized the sentiment that humans were regressing into more primitive and barbaric forms, that humans were caught in the grasps of cultural de-evolution. Working on and off, experimenting, their efforts eventually lead to the creation of their debut album. Approaching 50 years, DEVO's debut album 'Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo' still proves to be an inspiring work of art, even now seeming like a leap forward in musical creativity and asserting that their album is still an essential for the enrichment of musical taste.

DEVO did oes not abide by industry standards nor strive to become commercially viable, instead they aim to become the embodiment of de-evolution, a feeling of visceral release. Which is exactly the point of the first and one of their most recognized songs on the LP, 'Uncontrollable Urge'. With this track listeners are welcomed to a melange of rhythmic and melodic progression. The song does not follow a set standard, crunchy tones, minimalist lyricism, and Mark Mothersbaugh's enunciation, highlight the urgency of release, the need to 'scream and shout it'. Each song in the LP has their own unique style, ranging from staccato to galloping hi-hats, utilization of contemporary instruments to dynamic operation of synthesizers, and has a different message to convey. The whole album is reminiscent of “2001: A Space Odyssey's” opening scene, monkeys in disarray by something profound.

Every song is a testament to DEVO's originality and complete disregard for musical norms. All tracks will grow on you as you find yourself opening up, becoming more open to and enjoying the omnipresent disorder. What makes this album such a solid work of art is the ability to enable the listener to interpret their own meanings. DEVO aims to portray humanity's primal chaos in the 20th century, to act as an informer, but also enable people to release and enjoy the absurd and perplexing. It is a perfect irony that is excellently executed. It was all possible because everyone that was part of DEVO had the guts to be different, to stick out and try something else and that's exactly what they wanted to do. Only they could have come up with “Jocko Homo's” sentiment of “God made man but a monkey supplied the glue.” That is why this album is such an essential.