We start things off with "Nobel Prize" a distorted, loud rocker that shows off Kevin's trademark musical aesthetic hard at work here, providing a good idea of the solid musical foundation that he has built up over the years and has grown exponentially to the level where everyone knows who Kevin is just by the sound of his voice. My favorite song off the album is "Private First Class", a mostly acoustic based tune that will have your heart grow fonder for Kevin's emotionally cutting tunes that really make you marvel at the intensity and brilliance of his songcraft that is on marvelous display here and features outstanding guitar riffs that perfectly accentuate Kevin's musical message that is loud and clear for everyone to hear. "I Can't Believe You" features a more toned down mindset that allows us to view the diverse musical trajectories that are available in their arsenal, ready to use at their disposal at any given time and those extreme variances are the band's hallmark and one to identify the group by. "Bloodhound" is an all around perfectly produced track with laser precise guitar riffs and Kevin's charming vocal persona winning over your heart almost instantaneously and making us fawn for what's to come on the second half of the effort.
The second half starts off with the title track featuring Kevin's undeniable musical presence that is constantly growing deeper and more prevalent with each passing track, and the song's fast moving pace represents their constantly evolving musical blueprint that you can easily comprehend right away. "She Can See Me" is representative of their distorted nature that features escalating guitar riffs and piercing instrumentation that really makes you appreciate the brimming creativity that is emanating strongly from these gentlemen, and is well on their way to closing out the album in grand fashion. "Somewhere Unoccupied" begins to get us ready for the conclusion of the album with a subtle, toned down affair that allows us to feel at ease right before we hear the final song on this masterfully constructed effort here. We wrap things up with "I Don't Care About Your Band" a terrific, tough as nails track that features Kevin's masterfully created lyrics that speak to us so eloquently and are so poetic in nature, that Kevin knows what we're feeling and thinking at any given time, an amazing and rare ability for such a talented and gifted songwriter as Kevin himself. Kevin has grown on me heavily in recent months, and I have totally fallen in love with his ability to speak to me like an old friend wanting to get together for a beer at the neighborhood pub, and I feel that kinship and sincerity flowing out brilliantly and it has really changed my outlook on life substantially.
All in all, a terrific and musically cohesive effort from Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band, who have a real knack for connecting with listeners exclusively and solely for the purpose for talking with them and see what their perspective on life is.
Album Score: 4/5
Track Listing:
- Nobel Prize
- Private First Class
- Fiscal Cliff
- I Can't Believe You
- Redbird
- Bloodhound
- Bubblegum
- Sick of Words
- Capybara
- She Can See Me
- Somewhere Unoccupied
- I Don't Care About Your Band
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