Devine approaches the same political issues that he did with Brothers Blood, with his overt anti-war message and his left political leanings. However, he does not come across as preachy, and still seems to distill the same empathic nature toward the human condition that he did with his last albums. Albums that talked of drug addiction, adultery, in the most human and compassionate way possible.
Between the Concrete and Clouds opens with the single from the album “Off Screen.” which starts with a tribal sounding drum and an ethereal sounding guitar. Devine’s voice is haunting as it starts the song out, which turns into a more indie-rock song as it progresses with power chords being added over a picked melody. It lacks nothing in ambience, but lacks the same fierce intensity lyrically that he is known for, falling on more repetitive choruses. However, as his last single “I Could be With Anyone” proved, his singles are usually his least intelligent, and most pop oriented songs in his albums, a rule which proved true for Between the Concrete and Clouds as well.
The same ambient guitar leads into the next song “The First Hit,” which sounds more like the sound that Devine is known for with simple rhythm guitar backed by a basic drum beat. “Sleepwalking Through My Life” is more a pleasant upbeat track, and sounds almost like a marching theme from the 1920’s, the aloof sound compliments the dreamy somnambulant feel that the tracks lyrics express. This song also has beautiful backing vocals that slide in and out of the song, accentuating Devine’s already mellow singing style.
“Between the Concrete and Clouds” the albums title track, deals with the problems of religion and how it separates people instead of bringing them together. In this song Devine takes conventions and dashes them on the concrete, his refusal of convention is characterized by the harder style and the slightly more overdriven guitars. This song would stand alone well as an acoustic song, but comes together just as brilliantly with a full band, which just serves to add more depth to the Devine’s song writing skills.
The song that stands out the most on the album is “11.17,” a song which is a conventional love song to a certain extent, but a love song that does everything right. The guitar that opens is very sparse, allowing the listener to focus on Devine’s voice and haunting lyrics. Halfway through the song the bass and the drums come in, but are not overbearing, add a layer of synth for ambience and one has a perfect indie love song.
Also worth noting is the final track on the album “I Used to be Someone,” a track that is equally as sparse as “11.17” with the guitar and ambient synth. The lyrics here lament the loss of identity, “Rest assured I used to be someone, a brothers brother, and a mothers son,” Devine’s voice is perfect for conveying this loss and his simple guitar helps frame the image. Toward the end of the track it builds up with the rest of the band coming in, again carefully straddling the line between being too sparse and being overbearing.
Overall, Between the Concrete and Clouds is not as strong of album as Devine’s Brother’s Blood, but it still is worth a listen. My only contention is that I would have liked to hear Devine on the acoustic guitar more, as his folk roots color all of his music, and it seems almost a betrayal to not include them in this album. If you are in the market for a good indie album, than Between the Concrete and Clouds certainly fits the bill and is worth picking up, at the very least the song “11.17” is a must have for any indie fans playlist.
