His Carefree album is a gloriously ornate batch of smart-pop tunes, not just unusually well written but also wonderfully arranged. – LA Weekly
It's simply one of the most straightforwardly gorgeous pop albums released in some time. The first song, Here and on songs like "Elevator" and "A Truce," Williams is working in an antiquated tradition: writing each tune as if it were a single and packing as much as possible into a heavenly two-to-three-minute listening experience. Carefree is an increasingly rare example of mature songwriting that retains the essential teenage qualities that define good rock 'n' roll. –SF Weekly
Williams' collision of robust guitars and twee orchestration suggests '80s UK jangle-rock on a collision course with Sufjan Stevens. -Emusic
Over the course of a year and a half, Devon Williams recorded at three different studios around Los Angeles, walking away with a handful of songs each time. Seven guitar tracks, ten different mixes for some songs, paying entirely out of pocket, pushing favors, Williams scrutinized every moment stealing whatever moments possible to achieve his ideal sound. None of this is particularly newsworthy. Yet Carefree is.
Williams’ debut album has a melodic complexity that belies its immediacy, and descends from a lineage of great music generally and unjustifiably overlooked today. Those yearning for a return to intelligent pop music – songs as gratifying on their 1,963th listen as they are memorable after their first – need look no further.
Take songs such as "A Truce" or "Honey." They presumably come from a lifelong fan of greats such as Nilsson and