Now two solo efforts removed from his Emery departure, singer and songwriter Devin Shelton continues to evolve sonically. On his sophomore full-length, Sensation, Shelton lunges toward a full-blown R&B sound, while still owning his rock roots.
The first aspect of Sensation that immediately grabbed me was the remarkable attention to detail that Shelton stresses in his songwriting. Every single track has its own set of finely-blended layers, each one written with a sense of intentionality and possessing its own unique feel.
One of the best examples of this comes on my personal favorite, “I Just Wanna,” which starts out strong before eventually kicking into a killer trumpet line on the song’s bridge. At points, it almost sounds too driving; had Shelton eased up on the intensity, the Latin flair would be even more evident than it is, making for the perfect mid-tempo jam. As is, that unrelenting element feels unnecessary and out of place. Thankfully, though, it’s not enough to hinder “I Just Wanna” from being the album’s highlight.
Aside from the attention to detail on its compositions, another reason why Sensation is such a good record is its fantastic instrumental couplings. While these differ in detail from song to song, you can tell that Shelton went all in on every section; in other words, whatever the instrumental pairing happens to be, it always ends up sounding great.
The piano and bass often complement each other quite well, but this is particularly the case on the opener, “Sensation,” and on the groovy “Dance Tonight.” The piano and bass together aren’t the only solid combination though; the guitar and bass mesh nicely on the upbeat yet powerful “Tide,” and again on the driving “Buried Alive.”
On Sensation’s edgier, more rocking moments, the R&B vocals of Devin Shelton don’t immediately click with the album’s instrumentation; at times this rocking instrumentation even feels out of place. Nevertheless, Sensation is an awesome effort that is another step away from his days in Emery, even if those musical roots can still be felt from time to time. I suspect that if Shelton continues the logical progression and in his next effort uses even less rock influence, he will have finally established himself as more than just “that one guy from Emery.” Then again, maybe he’s already done just that.
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