Kevin Devine’s Brother’s Blood has been touted as his best work to date and now several tracks from those same revered sessions are being unveiled for the first time on She Stayed As Steam. The EP is available digitally today on Favorite Gentlemen and on vinyl courtesy of These Are Not Records. The four-song EP culls together two previously unreleased songs, title track “She Stayed As Steam,” and “Big, Bad Man” alongside remixes of “Hand of God” (“Breathe, Breathe Deep”) and “Another Bag of Bones.” The vinyl version is presented on translucent coke bottle green and includes two live acoustic European radio performances, “Ballgame” and the Leonard Cohen cover, “Chelsea Hotel No. 2,” not found on the digital release. The EP is now streaming in its entirety at Favoritegentlemen.com with the title track available for free download. Both the EP and 12″ can be purchased HERE.
“‘She Stayed As Steam’ and ‘Big, Bad Man’ were really hard to leave off Brother’s Blood,” explains Devine. “They were once a piece of the album and were two of our favorites; refamiliarizing myself with them for this release, they still are. They never felt like B-sides, but more like A-minus sides? I don’t know if that’s even right… They’re realized and I’m proud of them — I’m thrilled they’re getting a proper platform.”
Both “She Stayed As Steam” and “Big, Bad Man” easily hold their own with their Brother’s Blood relatives and paired with the remixes, result in another accomplished release in Devine’s prolific catalog. The EP opens with the title track as Devine’s gentle voice and lightly strummed guitar is joined by stomping percussion and slowly builds to a frenzied catharsis. “Big, Bad Man” shows off Devine’s musical range with its countrified rock and twang. Devine’s bassist Chris Bracco transformed LP track “Hand of God,” injecting it with a dance beat and a flourish of synths. The EP is rounded off with a reworked “Another Bag of Bones” courtesy of label mate Trevor Dowdy also known as I Married My Highschool Sweetheart. “Trevor took bold liberties with ‘Another Bag of Bones’ and took it to another place,” reveals Devine.
Since the release of Brother’s Blood in April 2009, Devine has been on the road nearly non-stop with tours of North America, Europe, Australia, performances at Lollapalooza and Coachella and most recently a debut performance at Bonnaroo. He is currently touring with Thrice and will wrap up the month in Germany opening for Nada Surf.
DOWNLOAD “SHE STAYED AS STEAM” HERE
KEVIN DEVINE ON TOUR WITH THRICE
July 6 – Houston, Texas @ Warehouse Live
July 7 – Austin, Texas @ Emo’s
July 8 – Dallas, Texas @ The Palladium Ballroom
July 9 – Tulsa, Okla. @ Cain’s Ballroom
July 10 – Kansas City, Mo. @ Midland Theatre
July 11 – Denver, Colo. @ Ogden Theatre
July 13 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ In The Venue
July 15 – Tempe, Ariz. @ The Marquee
July 16 – San Diego, Calif. @ House of Blues
July 17 – Pomona, Calif. @ Fox Theater
July 18 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ House of Blues
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