If you watched the clips of Brand New debuting songs from their excellent fifth LP Science Fiction at High & Low Fest last weekend, you might have noticed a few additional musicians on stage with the band, in addition to the regular quartet. Apparently, one of those musicians was none other than Kevin Devine, who has been a staple in the indie/punk scene for almost a decade now.

Devine took to Facebook to announce that he was putting a pause on his solo work to play a part in the touring incarnation of Brand New, playing additional guitar and providing harmonies. Check out his full statement below.

So, for the foreseeable future, I’ll be touring as a member of Brand New, playing guitar & singing harmonies. I’ve been playing music with & around Brand New in various ways for basically our entire careers; I love & am proud of them, think they’ve made a(nother) dynamic, special record, and take seriously the opportunity to perform as a part of their band, to help execute their vision & hopefully augment their already plenty-formidable stature. (It’s also really fun.) The reason for saying anything in public is to share that I’ll be quieting down the KD world for a while. There will still be a handful of odd shows here & there, and a few non-tour- or proper-record-related projects, but it feels good to do something else, take stock & decide what comes next, and “go away” a bit in some core sense. That’s it. Thanks as always & be good to each other – these are scary, brutal, psychedelic times, but you’re not alone. See you out there,

Kevin

Science Fiction — which recently hit Number One on the Billboard charts — is out now via the Brand New’s label Procrastinate! Music Traitors, which also released Devine’s latest LP Instigator in late 2016.