(2021) Kevin Devine - Between the Concrete & Clouds (10th Anniversary Edition)


Review:
…includes two unreleased studio tracks from the ‘Between the Concrete & Clouds’ era (“Keep Me in Your Pocket” and “I’ll Try”), plus a live four-song Little Videos session and a live four-song Last.fm Session both originally recorded in 2011. Since launching his solo career with the release of 2002’s Circle Gets the Square, alternative singer/songwriter Kevin Devine has cultivated a following thanks to his introspective songwriting and heartfelt melodies. With Between the Concrete & Clouds, Devine stays true to those conventions but expands his horizons by inviting his Goddamn Band — keyboardist Brian Bonz, bassist/keyboardist Chris Bracco, drummer/percussionist Mike Fadem, guitarist Russell Smith, and guitarist/mandolinist Mike Strandberg — to the party, ending a renewed energy and flow to Devine’s sound. The addition of the band also allows Devine to explore a wider musical palette, channeling power pop swagger with “The First Hit” and using instrumentation to mirror the narrative of “11-17” — one guitar strums as he opens the song with thoughts of love, slowly building to distortion as the full story of love gone wrong unfolds. In contrast to his previous efforts, Between strays from Devine’s sociopolitical-leaning lyrics, shifting the focus to more abstract concepts with more wordplay, well illustrated with the title track (“And every single time that you opened your mouth/Someone else’s lies came tumbling out/Parading as the truth in a cap and a gown/A graduated curse that you cast to the ground”). While the transition from acoustic to electric may take veteran listeners by surprise, Between the Concrete & Clouds succeeds in walking the fine line of capturing the intimacy and charm of Devine’s previous efforts while allowing him to continue developing as an artist. — AMG





Track Listing:

Disc 1: (original album)
01. Off-Screen
02. The First Hit
03. Sleepwalking Through My Life
04. Awake in the Dirt
05. Between the Concrete & Clouds
06. 11-17
07. Wait Out the Wreck
08. A Story, A Sneak
09. The City Has Left You Alone
10. I Used to Be Someone

Disc 2:(10-year anniversary bonus songs)
01. Keep Me in Your Pocket
02. Off-Screen (Little Videos Session)
03. Sleepwalking Through My Life (Little Videos Session)
04. 11-17 (Little Videos Session)
05. I Used to Be Someone (Little Videos Session)
06. I’ll Try
07. Off-Screen (Last.fm Session)
08. 11-17 (Last.fm Session)
09. A Story, A Sneak (Last.fm Session)
10. Between the Concrete & Clouds (Last.fm Session)


Media Report:
Genre:  indie-folk, indie-rock
Country: USA
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits