Devin Sinha - Liminal Space (2020)

On his new studio recording, Liminal Space, Seattle, WA songwriter Devin Sinha pairs his eloquent lyric-focused composition with elevated instrumental virtuosity to craft a record that will secure his place among the greats of the contemporary folk-rock canon. Sinha excels at eloquently intermingling the intimate and the grand, and that strength is brought seamlessly to bear throughout Liminal Space. Intricate, elegant finger-style guitar melts into swelling strings. Big-sky melodic vistas stretch to the horizon. The varied tones and timbres all balance with thoughtful intentionality, playing the perfect counterpoint to Sinha’s ringing baritone vocals.

Liminal Space builds from the evolutionary course first charted on Sinha’s 2016 LP, Our Past and Present Futures, and further explored on 2017’s Our Fathers Were Lions. While the former dealt primarily with interpersonal relationships and the latter moves through the realms of nature, the work of the artist, and traditional narrative storytelling, Liminal Space resonates with intentional abstraction. “The term Liminal Space refers to a period of transition” explains Sinha. “That in-between realm where you’re past what’s been before, but not quite to the place of what comes next.” Transitional and transformative, and many of the songs on this record convey that sensation; of loss flecked with anticipation for what may be.