“Magic Magnet” comes from Devinyl Splits No. 4 with Cymbals Eat Guitars. Pick up a copy of the split 7″ here: http://badtimi.ng/KDBTR
We recently heard Cymbals Eat Guitars‘ great new song “Aerobed” which is off their upcoming split vinyl single with Kevin Devine. It’s the fourth installment of Kevin’s Devinyl Splits series and is due out on November 13th via Bad Timing Records . Now we’ve got the premiere of KD’s side, “Magic Magnet,” which is the first Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band song since their 2013 album “Bubblegum”. It’s a loud-quiet-loud rocker like the Cymbals contribution, so the two songs pair well together, and it picks right up where Bubblegum left off. It’s good stuff .
Kevin Devine one of the most prolific singer-songwriters in the punk and indie rock world, and an artist who had released six studio albums to critical acclaim. With two Billboard charting albums Brothers Blood and the later Between the Concreteand the Clouds was hesitant about using crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter to fund the release of his seventh and eighth LPs.
But, as odd as it felt to fund an album with support directly from his fans, he was also disillusioned by his experiences in the traditional label system. In the late months of 2012, as he continued to write, Kevin Devine’s uneasiness with the Kickstarter model began to recede. He proceeded with the belief that he would be doing something different and true, placing his trust in the audience to guide him.
“I’ve made six records. In America they’ve been released on five different labels. It’s a pretty unstable industry. What’s made it a sustainable and justifiable career for me has been the audience and their close, passionate connection to the music.”
His fans responded. Devine met his $50,000 target funding within only 8 hours of the 45-day campaign, and ultimately fans pitched in to the tune of $114,805, more than double his initial goal. The funds resulted in the simultaneous release of “Bulldozer”, which is laced with folk-rock and pop ballads, and was produced by Rob Schnapf (Elliot Smith, Beck and Guided By Voices) and Bubblegum, produced by Jesse Lacey of Brand New, an uptempo record with feedback, loud fuzz guitars and catchy hooks. Essentially, a proper rock and roll record.
The two album project that explored drastically different sounds was a massive undertaking, and it was released to great success. Both albums charted on the Billboard charts simultaneously and both were the highest-charting positions of Devine’s career to date. Hitting Nos. 2 and 3 on the Heatseekers chart. The single “Bubblegum” charted for a month on SiriusXM’s Alt Nation Alt18 chart . He took his new material on the road in North America, the UK, Europe and Australia, and the LPs delivered the greatest critical reception of Devine’s music to date.
Devine continued his support of Bulldozer and Bubblegum with the release of a 7″ single featuring the song “She Can See Me,” the one track Devine wrote twice; a version for Bulldozer and a version for Bubblegum. The She Can See Me 7″ was released via Bad Timing Records, Devinyl Records and Favorite Gentlemen Recording . This partnership between the three companies will continue throughout 2015 with both new and previously released music.
Saw the wonderful talented Kevin Devine on friday evening at the Bodega , what a superb singer songwriter he is with some great songs and a charismatic persona on stage I love the way he uses words, Kevin is a Brooklyn based singer songwriter known for his melodic acoustic songs introspective, sometimes political songs, a member of the band Miracle of 86, and the Goddamn band.
Kevin Devine is going it alone these days. Not musically, so much, as he’s never short of collaborators to lend their hand to his various efforts. But, in just about every other respect, he’s operating largely as a one-man operation. He’s releasing his own music through his newly-minted Devinyl Records imprint, crowdsourcing via Kickstarter to fund the release of his records, and even doing the lion’s share of the legwork on the promotional front. You know, because the life of a working musician isn’t busy enough.
Kevin Devine seemingly couldn’t be more reenergized by the entire process, so much so that the fruits of his fundraising allowed for not one, but two new records, each one tailored to decidedly different sides of Devine’s punchy pop rock personality. “I might be someone who is uniquely positioned to do it, since I have a few pretty distinct iterations of my musical personality,” Devine says of his decision to parse his new material out over two separate recordings. It’s an accurate statement coming from a songwriter with a firm grip on the two potentially pejorative strains of power pop, that of the sweetly sentimental singer/songwriter and the rock star with a noisy taste for flavorful hooks. Devine’s music dips its toes in both waters,
So to date we have “Bulldozer” and “Bubblegum”, two records with their own feel and identity that together paint a portrait of the artist. But, don’t be fooled by the titles. Ironically enough, the tough-sounding Bulldozer gives in to Kevin Devine’s more streamlined pop inclinations. Backed by members of countrified alt poppers Everest,Devine and his backing Goddamn Band shape-shift their way through the pop rock spectrum, offering up acoustic ballads (“From Here”, “For Eugene”), atmospheric alt rock (“Couldn’t Be Happier”, “Matter of Time”), Beatles-esque pop jaunts (“The Worm in Every”), and hard-driving guitar rock (“She Can See Me”). The reference points are deliberate, with Devine citing Neil Young (Zuma and On The Beach, to be precise), Elliott Smith, Nebraska-era Springsteen, and Teenage Fanclub as sources for the record’s inspiration. It’s quite the grab bag of influences, but Devine makes good use of the sonic sprawl and everything plays nice together.
But, if Bulldozer plays the part of mature older brother, Bubblegum, is the snot-nosed middle child crying out loudly for attention. In part two of his musical juggling act, Devine strips away much of the polish and pop finesse boasted on Bulldozer, allowing for a less deliberate sound that gets by on scruffy volume and youthful exuberance. Devine’s take? “I actually think they kind of yin and yang together pretty well,” he opines. In the end, it’s hard to argue. One hand washes the other,
The Fat Angel Sings 