Kevin Devine – Put Your Ghost To Rest

It seems that it’s becoming more and more fashionable to be a solo artist in today’s scene, as if a singer/songwriter gets more respected or more opportunity than a full blown band. As a few solo artists start making a name for themselves, more and more are heading into that direction making an almost impossible set of standards to achieve and an ever growing pool of competition. Kevin Devine is yet another solo artist (with help from his backup band, The Goddamn Band) trying to make a name for himself. With three indie releases, Devine is set to take on the big leagues with his major-label debut, Put Your Ghost To Rest.

Like many singer/songwriters out there, Devine tends to focus on the lyrical aspect of the album; using the English language to craft poetry rather than repeated chorus to grind into your memory banks. The songs are a trip through memory lane as Devine takes a look back into the past, growing up in Brooklyn and all the adventures of growing up. But as the album progresses, the lyrical theme progresses too, moving from the past to the present and the need for living for today. He then starts to take a social-political stance through observation of the world and the trouble everyone is falling into on the highlight of the album, The Burning City Smoking, which takes a look at the US and the whole world’s fast food society way of thinking and the destruction it’s leading us into (We want everything we see and once it’s gone we just want more / Atlas had those shoulders, we’ve got Ambien and Jamesons and blow). The lyrics are abnormally blunt, but poetic nonetheless, with carefully rhythmic timing, rhyming couplets and multiple ways of interpretation, Devine writes a song that almost anyone can relate to in some miniscule way.

Even though the lyrics are a clear selling point of Put Your Ghost To Rest, the music can be slightly under par at times. While Devine may be the mastermind behind the songs, he is far from he sole performer. With a steady stream of musicians helping him out from track to track, he, at times, tries to fit too much into one song; forgetting that the point of a solo artist is a man and his instrument of choice. A few backup singers and the use of the slap back echo effect, the vocals are nicely layered but lack that proximity and inclusiveness needed at times.

Put Your Ghost To Rest is a nice mix of The Rocket Summer and The New Amsterdams (with an emphasis on the latter as Devine‘s vocals shares a striking resemblance to Matt Pryor) but lack the staying power of both acts. It has definite promise, and worth a few listens, but in a sea of solo artists, Put Your Ghost To Rest just falls a tiny bit short of the mark.