Kevin Devine
Put Your Ghosts To Rest
(Capitol)
Marking Kevin Devine’s major label debut after several indie releases on his own and as part of Miracle 86, Put Your Ghosts To Rest is made of the kind of mild- mannered pop-rock with which majors have forged a solid history of absolute incompetence. The hope here is obviously to cash in on one of Devine’s more Death Cab-slanting songs, through whatever TV show is cornering the market on teenage angst and dry humping sessions at the moment. The disc itself is great. It’s a subtle tip of the hat to country/folk delivered by a writer with a keen ear for pop melodies and biting lyrics. Despite all, for Devine, this is a regret in the making.
—Matt Charlton
This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
