Advance Review - Jamie Devine: Bloom (April 17, 2020) Mon Hills Records
Amidst the crisis that is the COVID-19 pandemic, a calming presence is about to be released to the world via Mon Hills Records in the form of Jamie Devine's album Bloom. It kicks off with the acoustic track titled "Canyons", which was written and composed by West Virginia University student Ritchie Liberio. Devine's vocals radiate on this one. Next up is an original composition featuring a melody comprised primarily of piano. Devine takes more leaps here vocally and it pays off.
I was shocked to see a cover of Radiohead's "Creep" included. Being a Radiohead fanatic, I was interested in seeing what Devine would do with the track. It's an acoustic number where Devine attacks the cadence and tempo of York's vocals pretty similarly to how it was done in the original. She gets in some great falsetto work near the end and absolutely nails that ending "run" vocal we all know so well (don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about). Overall it's a pretty good cover of the original, though I wish they'd have thrown in a bit more twists that would make it stand away from the original.
The release closes out with another Devine original "Too Dark to See". Musically, the melody reminds me of "The Drugs Don't Work" by The Verve (a melody I love). Devine does a lot with the vocal work here, running all over her register. I really liked the addition of the guitar solo toward the end of the track, it was a shakeup musically. It's a solid closing out to this release for the young singer/songwriter.
Overall, I think this is a good first effort from Devine. I have to say I'm interested to hear more of her original work. She's got solid vocal skills and a mind for composition to back it up. I think that this is just the beginning for her.
Rating - 3.5/5
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