The Divorce
There Will Be Blood Tonight
Fugitive
The Divorce is a band of guys who pay equal homage to the angular stylings of Braid and Jazz June and to the straight-forward, steamrolling power pop of Smoking Popes and Green Day. The combination is perfect, and the result is There Will Be Blood Tonight, an album of power pop sing-alongs that get the toes tapping and the air drums pounding.
I guess what I like most about this record is the way that these guys deliver their songs. They love music, and their love for playing music comes out in the delivery. The Divorce are not looking to be cool scenesters or to score chicks. They simply like to blow people away with enormous guitars, plodding bass lines and overpowering drums. It’s just so refreshing to hear a band that is totally having a blast doing what they are doing.
These guys will be called “emo” due to lyrical content, but they’re really a pop band, in the same way that All American Rejects are more a pop band than an “emo” band. The vocal melodies are so sweet and singable that I’d be surprised if these guys don’t sell a lot of copies of this record. It could be, though, that The Divorce might rock a little too hard for their own good. “Samoa’s Revenge” is just a bit too aggressive and tough for mainstream play. Remember, these guys do a lot of the weird angular guitar stuff that Jawbox, Braid and the like popularized, and mainstream radio didn’t accept Jawbox (accepting Jimmy Eat World and All American Rejects is one thing…). There is also a bit of screaming back up vocals here and there, reminiscent of Grade, which most teenagers will find too unsettling.
“Catch You Disappointed” could be a big radio hit, if the stars are aligned for The Divorce. It’s poppy, rockin’ and very upbeat. It reminds me of recent Jimmy Eat World stuff. All I know is that There Will Be Blood Tonight is a fantastic album in the same way that The Get Up Kids’ Four Minute Mile was fantastic; it’s poppy and happy, but it rocks enough to appease the punk inside all of us.
Fugitive Recordings: http://www.fugitiverecordings.com/ • The Divorce: http://www.thedivorce.net/
