Albatross
Brooklyn’s wyrd folkie Kevin Devine spits parsley, sage, and rosemary rhymes on his latest full-length Nothing’s Real, So Nothing’s Wrong. There is a slight preciousness to his compositions, but he wears it well in a Bon Iver-type of mode. And call us crazy, but do Devine’s vocals sound like “Weird Al” Yankovic is taking a turn as an indie star? Shout out to the Weird Al/Alanis Morrisette exchange on Twitter.
Our highlighted track “Albatross” ramps up the quiet intro into a full-fledged rock n roll barnburner. Devine builds up his repeated refrain into a billboard mantra:
I think my brain is broken,
Can’t push my point across,
If I stay unspoken,
Don’t lift my albatross.
It’s a common complaint in the social media age — so many vectors of communication and yet we feel like our meaning is mute. You’ll have to think deeper on the albatross symbolism.
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