Villins at Stimulate at the Delancey

Villins' vocalist/keyboardist, the single-named Jesyka, saw Kareem "Jesus" Devlin on television in 2010, playing lead guitar in Lady Gaga's band. Jesyka wondered what working on a music project would be like with someone like Devlin. From 2011 to 2016, Jesyka was the front person for a New York City-based hard rock band, Syka, and Devlin became one of the band's two guitarists. The two left Syka to become Villins in 2017. Villins has seven songs available for streaming online; the band does not have a projected date for an album.

After performing in numerous New York area venues, Villins might have found a sweet spot in the Stimulate parties curated by Xris SMack!, where the djs specialize in darkwave and similar electro and rhythms. While Villins' recordings lean on a softer and safer radio-friendly sound, the live performance took on much more gravity. This seemed to be where the heart of the collaboration lived. Backed by backing tracks and a drummer, the singularly-named Matsu,  Jesyka sang dark pop melodies to which Devlin added blazing guitar leads. The result was danceable hard rock with a gothic edge. The duo also brought sexy back to the rock stage, with Jesyka's skimpy skin-tight wardrobe and Devlin's bare six-pack chest rubbing against each other during many songs. Villins also incorporated a few unusual laser effects to enhance the visual element. The band you get on recordings sounds unlike the band you get live, and vice versa, but Villins is a young and promising project that will work through this dichotomy.