Between an already-chatty crowd and the way a bar tends to react when an acoustic act finds its way on stage, watching Kevin King, who performs as Saccharine, recently in Jamaica Plain was like witnessing a Sisyphean display of perseverance.  

I mean, the boulder in this case was some dude debating Tom Brady’s suspension with his friend the entire set, but honestly, I’d prefer an actual boulder if I were Saccharine. Surprisingly, King seemed to take the challenge in quiet stride.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that his solo material has hit the kind of sonically spacious, but richly emotional bullseye that Kevin Devine and William Fitzsimmons have built their careers around. While previously fronting the short lived emo outfit Maura, King aimed closer to Devine pal Jesse Lacey’s sneering delivery, but Saccharine is all sincerity on his debut full-length, this May’s We Both Became The Sky.

A song like Sky’s leadoff single “Smother” blooms with keys and percussion, but the focus never shifts from King’s aching rasp. “The air that’s keeping me breathing is the predator and I am the prey,” he bemoans in one of the more downtrodden of the album’s many heart-aching admissions. Saccharine appear to making plays towards full band territory with Sky, but its strength comes in its ability to show King front and center as one of Allston’s most compelling singer/songwriters.

As for Deflategate debates going forward, I say they’ll have no choice but to be put on hold if King’s on stage.

We Both Became The Sky is out on May 20 via Disposable America, but is available now for preorder here.