Kevin Devine "Instigator"
I was about to write “if there’s one thing Kevin Devine is know for” but quickly thought better of it. Why? Because KD is known for lots of things. His introspective lyrics. His ability to change from solo acoustic to rollicking rock and roll. His prolific discography. His awesome last name. His bionic heat vision. Ok. Now I’m starting to make stuff up. But I’m not making this up: Instigator (Procrastinate! Music Traitors), Kevin’s 9th studio album (that number at least triples if you include live albums, other projects, EPs, singles…), is everything we love about Kevin. Elliot Smith-esque confessions and vocal melodies, Weezer-y hooks, simple math rock complexities (yeah, I know that doesn’t make sense, but listen and you’ll see I’m right), and all produced by the lovely and talented John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.). Check out “No History.”