breezy listen time and time and time again. This solo project bears the undeniable Blake Sennett (Rilo Kiley, The Elected) stamp: heartonthesleeve and dreamy lyrics about solitude and love buttered up by floating keys and days and days in a willowy falsetto that begs for the girl to come back and for that girl to stay. Devil’s Made A New Friend is born from personal strife and professional turmoil, as good records often are. Gorbel’s departure from The Honorary Title and from the occasional bondage of studio oversight allowed this singer-songwriter to shed any pretense and write for only himself. He roped in a few notable colleagues, Sennett included, and turned apartments in Brooklyn and Los Angeles into incubators for this viscerally piercing record. The result is a collection of ten tracks that feel close to the artist’s heart. Lyrics like, “You’re losing faith in me, frightening to think that, conscious that I had somehow slipped away gone, couldn’t feel a thing, devil’s made a new friend,” and “You can’t wash this off, your skin leaves the wreckage of your sins, feels a lot like a new beginning” are aplenty, scattered throughout Devil’s Made A New Friend. At every turn, Gorbel goes deep. There are no wasted opportunities on this syrupy release. Highlights include “I’ll do better,” an anthemic promise that rings in sentiment of The Elected’s “I’ll Be Your Man,” “Each breath,” a potent and vital serenade, and the closer, “Weight,” a slowed down plea to hold onto love. Gorbel’s Devil’s Made A New Friend was made for idle Sundays. It will be released on August 31, 2010