Pretty Girls with Ugly Boys. It sounds almost as clichéd as singing about a bleeding heart (in New Jersey, of course), but doubtless it rings true to the sound of youth. And the cash register.
It’s hard to classify Divide the Day‘s album. It really is a struggle. On the one hand you have some atypical hardcore tracks which hinge on grinding riffs such as The Annexation of Puerto Rico, then closing track Strive slows things right down with a track which is to this CD what ‘Emily’ is on From First to Last‘s album; whilst Strive undoubtedly brings a little variety, it’s twice as long as it needs to be and the drum and bass outro is horrendously misplaced. It just doesn’t work.
In between such opposites we have tracks like ¡Totally outrageous, por Favor! Which bring a balls-out rock and roll style to proceedings. And it’s more than welcome. In terms of single-worthy tracks then You Say You Want Space? I’ll Give You The Fucking Galaxy stakes its claim well, despite having a title that even Fall Out Boy or Panic! At the Disco might deem a mite too high on the cheese rating. Title aside, though, it’s a quality tracks and shows this band at their best: standard, soaring, melodic vocals backed up by a scream that comes across as a natural outlet of aggression. Unlike many bands of this ilk it doesn’t seem forced into being there at all, and I like that. Despite this, the song is led in with an intro which made me immediately think Acceptance and, the more I think about it, so do the melodic side of the vocals on this track. Which is, of course, no bad thing.
“She pushed me on my back, my jeans fell to the floor. We fucked on broken glass…”, so goes the lyrics of opening track My Yellow Pages Girl. The next words are indecipherable to me, but the beauty is the fact that it doesn’t matter. Screaming to rock and roll is most definitely in, as opposed to some bands screaming to drop-D tuned guitars and using mascara to blind themselves from the fact that they’re one step away from Ill Nino. Instead of a regularly labelled intermission you get East Willock Road – largely instrumental and atmospheric in its build up before unleashing a brief aural assault upon the listener.
I’ve had to think long and hard about this review and its potential score. I must have played this album a dozen times before I started writing – that’s a first for me and by some distance too. After umpteen minor changes of heart I’ve decided it just works and is just different enough to similar material being force-fed to you via all the usual channels to warrant serious investigation. The only bad track I can find is We Don’t Mean to Impose, But We’re a Hit in This Week’s Gossip Column – another terrible title, but this time for a bad song.
If someone gives this band a decent support slot to an established band and the band themselves develop their slightly-left-of-centre pop-hardcore/rock and roll sound then I can see them doing very well for themselves. Take your chances and give this a go.
www.dividetheday.com
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