K.P. Devlin - Year of the Snake - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

'Year of the Snake,' the new album from New York City-based singer/songwriter, KP Devlin, picks up where his last album, the energetic 'Idolatry,' left off, and takes you even further into the simultaneously cynical and whimsical depths of Devlin's imagination. Primarily a Inchbreak upInch album in the spirit of Bob Dylan's InchBlood on the TracksInch and Richard & Linda Thompson's InchShoot Out the Lights,Inch InchYear of the SnakeInch starts on a humorous note with the infectious potential pop hit, InchMy Favorite Ex-Girlfriend.Inch Complete with a catchy chorus (sure to have you singing along, even if you don't have a favorite ex-girlfriend), and a delightful brass section (played entirely by brass and woodwind virtuoso, Peck Allmond) the song chugs along with both glee and disdain. Sure to be a crowd pleaser at live shows. Much of the rest of the album's content is more on the dark and painful side. Other notable tracks include the mariachi-infused InchOur Love's Not Dead,Inch the Tom Waits-esque blues number, InchLong Lost Stranger,Inch the epic InchTwilight is Here,Inch and the album's title track, a seething, ominous, seven and a half minute rant, which once again features Allmond on horns, as well as Meg Okura on the erhu (InchChinese Snake ViolinInch). Devlin has been known to mix instruments of ethnic origins into his studio recordings, often incorporating them into a more traditional rock or folk setting in a very effective manner. This album features perhaps his most successful such mingling. Okura graces two tracks with the ehru, a hauntingly beautiful sounding instrument from China. Also present on the wistful InchForgivenessInch are the uilleann pipes, a smaller, traditional Irish version of the Scottish bagpipes. Here they are played beautifully by accomplished piper, Kieran O'Hare. The band's core is as solid and organic as can be, anchored by Dan Von