Between The Concrete & Clouds

A couple of albums removed from his brief major-label sojourn, Kevin Devine may have made his most commercial-sounding record with Between the Concrete & Clouds, meanwhile investigating subject matter that addresses the confusions of modern life. The music is lush, neo-psychedelic dream pop, and Devine shows a talent for keeping things sweet and catchy even as he throws in the occasional odd sound or bit of dissonance. Over the engaging instrumental beds, he sings in a light, uninvolved tenor with plenty of added echo, floating easily. But the lyrics are spotted with references to an uncertain world of diminished expectations. Perpetual youth has passed, and the singer is crossing 30, confronting emotional distress and disillusionment, as indicated in titles like "Sleepwalking Through My Life" and "The City Has Left You Alone." It all comes together in the nearly six minutes of the closing song, "I Used to Be Someone." "I came here dignified and dainty," Devine sings, "I don't feel like that lately." Fortunately, his disappointment is set to a bouncy soundtrack, which offers its own sense of hope to counteract the singer's conflicted feelings. ~ William Ruhlmann|