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05-04 Bad Books New Album/Songs/Tour
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The second collaboration between singer/songwriter Kevin Devine and Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra, Bad Books II findsthese two
extraordinary tunesmiths untethered from their respective brands, joining forces to reach new stylistic andemotional terrain. Accompanied by
members of Manchester Orchestra – with guitarist Robert McDowell also producing andkeyboardist/percussionist Chris Freeman once again
supplying distinctive album art – Hull and Devine offer up a series ofmagnificently etched songs which light upon everything from anthemic
stadium rock (“The After Party”) and re ...read more
The second collaboration between singer/songwriter Kevin Devine and Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra, Bad Books II findsthese two
extraordinary tunesmiths untethered from their respective brands, joining forces to reach new stylistic andemotional terrain. Accompanied by
members of Manchester Orchestra – with guitarist Robert McDowell also producing andkeyboardist/percussionist Chris Freeman once again
supplying distinctive album art – Hull and Devine offer up a series ofmagnificently etched songs which light upon everything from anthemic
stadium rock (“The After Party”) and reflectiveballadry (“42”) to energetic bubblegum (“No Sides”), gloriously baroque psychedelia (“Petite
Mort”), and whistling big beatpop (“Forest Whitaker”). The real-time sound of a group of talented friends synthesizing into something
altogether morecohesive and accessible, Bad Books II reveals a remarkable new band in the truest sense, emboldened and at ease enough
toset out together for places unknown.
“Bad Books is my therapeutic outlet,” says Hull, “a place I can go and do whatever I want in the moment. Somehow,amazingly, it works out.”
“There’s an openness and a playfulness to it,” Devine says, “but it’s still pretty serious music. It’s a weird combination – wetake the songs
very seriously but we let ourselves loosen up about the results in a way that’s different from either of ourmore personal projects. In a weird
way, that allows for us to go certain places we might not go on our own.”
The fast friendship between the Brooklyn-based Devine and Atlanta’s own Manchester Orchestra began in 2007 and has sinceincluded multiple
tours and a 2010 split EP in which each covered one of the other’s songs. The more collaborative Bad Booksfollowed later that year, featuring
individually penned songs from Hull and Devine, backed by Hull’s fellow Orchestra members(including the crack rhythm section of bassist
Jonathan Corley and drummer Ben Homola). A number of well-received livedates followed, mostly acoustic, as well as further joint tours in
other assorted permutations.
In January 2012, Devine hit the Manchesters’ Favorite Gentlemen Studios in Atlanta for another go-around. Having made thefirst Bad Books
album in just under a week, the musicians decided to stick with the system and work as rapidly andinstinctively as possible. They knocked
out tracks at a brisk pace, recording most songs in under a day.
“It’s an exhilarating feeling, “ Hull says, “making something so fast. You just wonder the whole time if it’s good. There was amoment when
we got the mixes back. We were like, ‘Holy shit, we just made something that’s pretty cohesive and prettysolid in just eight days.’”
The gloves-off sessions were marked by their openness, vibrancy and democratic spirit. Songs like Devine’s majestic “NeverStops” were
deconstructed and promptly rebuilt, the players uniting to impel the music in hitherto unconsidered directions.
“We were a little less precious about stuff,” Devine says. “Actually we were a lot less precious. Any idea we followed. Nostone was unturned.
Our attitude was, if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, well, okay, we just won’t use it.”
Which of course is not to say that the songwriting on Bad Books II is anything less than the result of great care andcraftsmanship by both Hull
and Devine. Songs like Hull’s “Lost Creek” and Devine’s knockout rocker, “No Rewards,” touch onmatters profoundly personal to both
songwriters, tackling big themes with passion, precision, poignancy, and power. Hullfurther displays his mastery of lyric narrative on the
elegantly articulated tour de force, “Pyotr,” a true account of Russia’sPeter the Great placing his wife’s lover’s head in a glass jar and then
ordering the adulterous Catherine to visit it daily, toldfrom the twin perspectives of the Tsar and the head itself.
As before, each songwriter brought in material that seemed to fit the Bad Books project. Whereas their first album essentiallygathered five
fully formed songs each from both writers, Hull and Devine were now comfortable enough to workshop together,allowing each other’s
expertise and sensibility to inform the finished product.
“I’ve never had anyone do that with me before,” Hull says. “I’ve always written everything. I’ve never asked for any help. Butthis time, I
asked. I said to Kevin, this is what I want to say here, how can I say it better? And he was able to help me,which is cool. I think my pride
probably up until this point wouldn’t have allowed that to happen, but to be honest, I don’treally care anymore.”
“There’s so much delicate ego involved,” Devine says, “you can feel very vulnerable. I think it speaks to how much we relateand respect each
other that now it seems to have developed into letting even the most sensitive part of what we do be upfor grabs.”
Hull and Devine’s six-year friendship is manifested throughout the album by their intimate, often magical harmonies. Havingbegun
experimenting with vocal layering while touring the first Bad Books record, the two friends made a conscious effort tobring that intriguing
influence to the new album. The close voices on tracks like “42” and “Pyotr” superlatively express andcounterpoint their increasing familiarity.
“Our relationship is built on these heavy talks,” Hull says. “We both have different views on things but there’s kind of a threadthat runs
through our beliefs. He’s a wise guy and there’s a lot that I can learn from him.”
That kind of camaraderie marked the recording of Devine’s stunning “Ambivalent Peaks,” an intensely felt song “aboutnavigating the depths –
or the shallows – of your self-understanding, of who you are and why you’re in the relationshipsyou’re in.” Spurred by the subject matter, the
session somehow evolved into an expansive “band therapy session” in which allinvolved divulged their own private takes on love, romance,
and the whole damn thing.
“It was a pretty beautiful moment,” Devine says. “Everyone was sharing openly. I know it sounds a little hoary or anti-rock ‘n’roll, but it was
something that deepened an already deep connection.”
Justifiably proud of what they’ve accomplished together, Bad Books plan to continue to develop their union with considerabletouring. Full-
scale itineraries are currently being planned for North America, Europe, and Australia.
“This record deserves to be worked more than the last one,” Hull says. “It doesn’t matter what band you’re in, if you createsomething that
deserves to be worked by touring, we should try and push this as much as we can.”
“We’ve made a record that stands up favorably against anything either of us have made on our own,” Devine says. “I think ithas the potential
to connect with people who don’t like either of us a whole lot. I think it could turn some heads.”
As inspired, expressive, and fully realized as anything in either artist’s outstanding back catalogues, Bad Books II reverberateswith boundless
excitement and artistic fervor. While all involved intend to continue their day jobs, Bad Books is now verymuch a going concern, “a second
color that we paint in,” according to Devine.
“We’re both continuing to grow,” he says, “and this band is part of that growth. I think what happened on this record willactually end up
informing what happens with each of us and the records we do next.”
“Bad Books became a band,” Hull says. “When we started, it was really just Kevin and I coming in with five songs eachbecause we wanted to
do something together. There was no real plan. Now I don’t ever see us stopping.” « hide |
Similar Bands: Manchester Orchestra, Kevin Devine, Right Away, Great Captain! |
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| LPs |  | III
2019
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 | II
10/09/2012
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 | Bad Books
2010
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| Compilations |  | II: Revisited
2023
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Contributors: SteveP, mttgry, EVedder27, SharkTooth, EVedder27,
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