A multi-genre singer-songwriter, Dewey Kincade has taken a step into the more exploratory rock, folk, and soul sound in his newest solo work. While he currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky, his newest project — The Heights — draws from his time spent living in New York City in the early 2000s. The Heights hit streaming services on October 9, 2024.
The 15 tracks on The Heights are inspired by love, heartbreak, and his time spent couchsurfing between friends’ apartments. “The Heights is a reference to Washington Heights where I lived after a tumultuous period in my life,” stated Kincade. “I mark the beginning of this period as happening right after I was dumped by my girlfriend of several years.”
It wasn’t until the production of his 2023 album, Standing On A Rock, that he rediscovered these songs that would eventually make up The Heights.
Kincade sent over the unfinished songs to Andrew Lee, the producer on his previous album, who helped to polish the old tracks. “Andrew had managed to add some sparkle to everything,” he reflected. “It’s not a textbook way to record an album, but the seemingly transient haphazard manner in which it was recorded, really reflects the time in which they were written.”
The third track, “I Can’t Give You My Life,” is a bright pop-rock track about a partner who is asking for something that the narrator is unable to give. “I gave you my love and I gave you my mind / But I can’t give you my life.”
One of several songs also recorded by Irish roots band The Navigators, “Sooner or Later” is slow and bluesy, with delightful harmonies and pedal steel. The song is about holding your head high in the face of the inevitable pain others can inflict on you.
Light and folky, “Everybody Wants a Piece of You” features delicate guitar picking and strings. Kincade sings about someone who is captivating yet misunderstood, “Your lips, your hands, your shiny skin / Are nothing but a shape to them / You’re just a goddess they pray to.”
Clocking in at number twelve is the notable track “Russian Roulette,” which offers airy harmonies and a signature mandolin. It’s a soaring rock track about taking chances in life — even if that means tempting death.
Wrapping up the 15-track opus is “I Will Meet You On The Other Side.” It’s a plucky countrified bluegrass song that stands apart sonically from the rest of the album, with a juxtaposition between the upbeat groove and the inevitable fate we all face.
The Heights is unique in its unconventional conception, offering a fascinating retrospective of Kincade’s thoughts and experiences from nearly 20 years ago. Sonically diverse, the album is for fans of rock, alt-country, and folk.
Featured photo by Andrew Dailinger
