Divorce – Drive to Goldenhammer
With their debut album an early contender for album of the year, Nottingham outfit Divorce are jumping to the front of the next-big-thing-queue
After a flurry of well-received EPs, and consistent 6Music support, Divorce have delivered a debut album that looks set to push them to the front of the next-big-thing queue. The Nottingham band are difficult to pigeonhole: across 12 tracks they marry country, pop, indie, and folk in a way that makes comparisons tricky. Live, it can sometimes feel like four different bands all playing at the same time. And yet, it always works.
All My Freaks is Taylor Swift jamming with Johnny Marr, while Hangman gives us David Byrne duetting with Stevie Nicks. And while bands like The Last Dinner Party are happy to mine the classic Fleetwood Mac sound of Rumours, Divorce are channelling Tusk – exotic and opaque, lyrically intricate and yet still hugely listenable. These are big songs, Pyramid Stage songs, delivered with a confidence and style that showcase a band unafraid to take risks. Without getting into PhD territory, the subtle ease with which the band carry the change from major to minor chords in Lord is a thing of great beauty.
There are no split decisions here. Divorce have delivered a strong early contender for album of the year.
Listen to: Lord, All My Freaks, Karen