he's never gone more than three years without putting out a record but i think this is about the gap he had between bubblegum/bulldozer and instigator so far. he's still got time to stay on that timeline if we count we are who we've always been as his last record tho
After Instigator I think the plan was to take an extended break from his solo work, tour as a member of Brand New, and then see what happens from there. Once all of the BN stuff went down though, I think everything had to pivot. That was 2 tours within a year (the other being with Modern Baseball) that both got cut short/cancelled, which I’m sure was a hit financially. I’m sure a new album is coming at some point. Maybe next year, but I think that’s probably still sooner than he had planned originally.
He released it for free in 2012, this re-release will probably be on streaming when it comes out Friday. Just a guess.
Happy 17 years of being a solo musician Kevin. I’ve seen him 8 times in 5 different cities so I really celebrate his work. He’s always approachable & kind, always affordable tickets, always even more spot on as a singer than he is in the studio. I vividly remember seeing him 7 years ago today on his 10th anniversary show. It was at The Bowery Ballroom. Great concert but people talked through the entirety of him playing Circle Gets The Square acoustic. That bummed me out but he also played Brother’s Blood and Split the Country, my two favorite records of his... A+. Still an outstanding day trip to NYC. I think Front Bottoms opened but that might have been a different time I went to NYC to see him? Idk.
Here is a link to a few videos I recorded from last night’s show. He did a Nirvana and Daniel Johnston cover as well. Hope you guys enjoy!
Thought I'd share this here, some might appreciate. From the show in Leeds, UK. Context from myself: This meant a great deal. I suffered a nervous breakdown in October, forced into home care, cancelled all my life plans, a booked US tour, and hadn't touched my guitar since then, until the day before this show. Didn't plan to perform for a while, but I couldn't say no to opening this one. Kevin has been one of my favourite songwriters/performers for the longest time, along with being the kindest, so was grateful to Kevin & Lande for doing this song with me, despite my messiness. Particularly as we prepared/they learnt it around 5 minutes before I started my set. Thank you both, not everything in this world is so cruel.
Also: I requested this song to Kevin at our show in Leeds (particularly as Bad Books are unlikely to come over to the UK or Europe anytime soon), but he had never performed it live, not since recording for the record, so he promised to prepare it for this show in Manchester (which I planned to attend). Thanks so much, it was, to me, flawless. My favourite song from one of my favourite records of 2019.