By Andrew Bansal
Originating in Seattle WA but calling Los Angeles home now, alternative/cinematic rock band Direct Divide began a year ago and have already put the finishing touches on their debut full-length album ‘Bridges’, set to release next Tuesday April 1st. This group of musicians presents catchy rock with an orchestral vibe, and this 33-minute offering brings forth their entire range of musicianship.
With the female lead vocals, violin and guitar, there’s clearly a strong emphasis on melody but these elements combine together in a manner that makes richly powerful, and turns out to be something fans of heavier music can definitely appreciate. Direct Divide’s music is in many ways reminiscent to British progressive/alternative rock band Anathema, which cannot be a bad thing as Anathema have gained worldwide recognition over the past two decades for their brilliant musicianship.
The album presents a blend of up-tempo tunes like ‘Persephone’ and ‘Down’ and slower, more somber songs like ‘Writing On The Wall’, ‘Meteors’ and ‘Liar’, but then goes into its heaviest track ‘Running’ which not surprisingly is my favorite on the album. Within a mere 3 minutes, musically it achieves a lot and drives its point across with much impetus. The album ends with two slower tracks ‘Break The Cycle’ and ‘Won’t Be Alone’, the former richer and heavier than the latter. All in all, for a 33-minute album, Direct Divide’s ‘Bridges’ is very diverse which simply showcases the quality of the songwriting.
If there’s anything I have to criticize here, I would say there are too many slow songs on the album, and a couple more like tracks #1 and #3 would have served the album better. But despite that, the album is still an interesting listen for those who can appreciate the cinematic, multi-layered variety of rock music and some of the tunes on here would be ideal as soundtrack items for movies and things of that nature.
Rating: 8/10
Release Date: April 1st 2014
Track Listing:
01. Persephone
02. Writing on the Wall
03. Down
04. Meteors
05. Liar
06. Running
07. Break the Cycle
08. Won’t Be Alone
Links:
DirectDivideband.com
DirectDivide.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/DirectDivide
youtube.com/DirectDivide
soundcloud.com/DirectDivide
twitter.com/DirectDivide