Kevin Devine - Brother's Blood [Limited Edition] (2015)

Ranging from a whispered hum to a cathartic holler and boiling over with his skillful wordsmithery, Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band’s Brother’s Blood will be released April 28 via Favorite Gentlemen Recordings. The first for the label and the fifth album in Devine’s impressive oeuvre, the LP furthers his adventures in exploring new stylistic territory and reflects the diverse talent and contributions of his musical handymen, The Goddamn Band.

Testament to Devine’s sonic ambidexterity, Brother’s Blood showcases the Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter’s versatility and range, one that has afforded him the unique privilege of capturing the hearts of fans of a variety of genres. Case in point, in the last two years he’s played nearly 600 shows with a dizzying mix of artists ranging from Rachel Yamagata to She & Him and the All-American Rejects to Manchester Orchestra. That’s in addition to his packed-out headline gigs and his guest appearances with friends Brand New and Okkervil River during their individual sets at Lollapalooza 2008.

Just as much as Devine loves the road he has an equal fondness for the studio, and in the midst of all his globetrotting, he cooked up Brother’s Blood. A confident mission statement about conscience, culture and personality, the album is resounding evidence of his impressive maturation as musician. Recorded at Williamsburg Headgear Studios with his Goddamn Band (Brian Bonz on keys & percussion, Chris Bracco on bass, Mike Skinner on drums, Russell Smith on guitar, and Mike Strandberg on guitar), Devine deliberately ceded more control of arrangement to his players, hoping to affect a more live, full-band feel for the first time on record.

Lead single “I Could Be With Anyone” is a charging and hook-heavy pop song equally indebted to The Cars and Superchunk while the title track is a massive and dynamic song fueled by epic guitar freakouts in the vein of Neil Young and Built To Spill. Meanwhile, opener “All Of Everything, Erased” shows off Devine’s quieter side as he lays a bed of nimble and rhythmic finger-picking and vividly describes a world fed up with humanity. “Fever Moon” is a sultry, Latin-influenced meditation on lust and its consequences that wouldn’t seem out of place on a 1970s Leonard Cohen album.