Kevin Devine – No One's Waiting Up For Me Tonight | EP Review
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For nearly two decades, Brooklyn’s Kevin Devine has carved out cross-genre niches in his musical pursuits, whether it’s with emo cult favorite Miracle of 86, folk rock supergroup Bad Books, or collaborations with the likes of Craig Finn and Meredith Graves on his Divinyls Splits Series. Devine’s latest solo project sees him going back to singer-songwriterly basics. No One’s Waiting Up For Me Tonight is wistful and introspective, allowing for Devine’s delicate melodies and thoughtful lyricism to take center stage. Though at times the moody-broody Elliott Smith worship goes a bit too far-- lines like “God transmissions through my higher mind” warrant an eye roll --Devine manages to build off of his indie folk influences in a striking way.
Take the standout track “I’ve Never Been Happier Than I Was In That Picture,” a rose-tinted waltz through memories of a past romance. As he paints vivid scenes of still life drawings in deserts and barefoot fountain dances during a Brooklyn heatwave, Devine gives thanks to a former lover for the moments of joy that have been preserved by memory. His bittersweet gratitude is backed by a shimmering, Sufjan-esque string arrangement-- the most elaborate on an otherwise instrumentally sparse EP.
These songs float between appreciation and regret, with memory serving as the throughline that tethers them to one another. There are times where it would seem easy for Devine to overindulge in nostalgia, an impulse which he artfully resists. The EP’s most striking moments come when Devine undercuts his own tendency toward romanticism with the occasional blunt one-liner: “you weren’t peaceful, you weren’t in love,” he sings on closing track “All There Is Now.” His ability to embrace both the beauty and the ugliness in his reflections on the past strengthens each emotional blow. The regretful “Taking Shape” juxtaposes Devine “coughing bloody yolk, threading a minefield blind” with Simon And Garfunkel-style vocal harmonies. Meanwhile, “Lakes On The Moon” is a stripped-down acoustic statement of humility, forgiveness, and loss.
Composed in quarantine, No One’s Waiting Up For Me Tonight is imbued with anxieties about an uncertain future as well as the promise of personal growth. It’s a testament to self-reflection, but more than that, it shows Devine questioning how he can use this period of solitude to head into the unknown. Even in its loneliest moments, there remains a quiet hope.
Grace Robins-Somerville is a writer from Brooklyn, New York. You can find her on Instagram @grace_roso and on Twitter @grace_roso.
