CD REVIEW: DIVIDES – Brokentooth

Label: Independent

Release Date: August 11, 2015

Rating: 8/10

Reviewed by: Mike Hubbard

Brokentooth is the debut full length release from Portland, OR based quintet DIVIDES.  Originally hailing from Anchorage, AK, DIVIDES made the move to Portland in an attempt to gain increased exposure and expand their horizons.  Brokentooth, which is scheduled to drop on August 11, shows that the band is indeed ready to take on the world with their fresh blend of alt-rock with a hint of metal infusion.

Some have compared DIVIDES to PVRIS or Tonight Alive, or even The Used.  I hear some of the Lacey Sturm era Flyleaf in the band, given the passionate vocals of front-woman CJ Marie and metal influences.  In the press release for the album Marie describes the process of creating the album.  “In August 2013, DIVIDES moved from Anchorage, Alaska to Portland, Oregon. We didn’t have jobs, or really a place to live, let alone any contacts in the music scene down here. Brokentooth was written during this process and after our relocation. It reflects the torment and elation that we’ve experienced over the past two years. It’s really difficult to leave your families and friends and comfort zone to pursue a dream that you’ve had your entire life, but it’s also really rewarding. Musically, the album is so schizophrenic because it reflects the tumult of our lives, and the tremendous increase in our collective influences. This album marks the first recording that our new guitarist Paul Anderson contributed to and his addition really affected the way we think about music. We sort of challenged ourselves to push the limits on what we consider ‘our sound’.”

Brokentooth opens with the straight-forward rocker ‘Holes In The Floor’.  It is a solid number, setting a baseline for the stylistic rollercoaster laid out over the 10 tracks in the LP.  The second track is ‘Supersymmetry’, continuing the feeling established in ‘Holes’.  ‘Echoes Fade’ is the third song, and also the first single from the album.  The band mixes things up a bit here, featuring Chris James from Defeat The Low in a vocal duet with Marie.  The songs reflects on the journey the band has taken, leaving everything behind to pursue their dreams.  The next three songs, ‘Sales and Anchors’, ‘Siren’, and ‘Alpenglow’ form a metalcore sandwich.  ‘Sales’ and ‘Alpenglow’ are the two softest and most introspective tracks on the disc (the bread of the sandwich), while ‘Siren’ is the hardest most metal track (the meat).  The next two tracks, ‘Splay’ and the title track ‘Brokentooth’, return to the alt-rock theme, with significant angst in ‘Brokentooth’.  The gears shift again for ‘Vines & Thorns’, which to me features Marie’s best vocals on the album.  The disc closes with ‘We Are Fragments’.  The synth opening for ‘Fragments’ threw me at first, since you really do not hear that anywhere else on the album, but once past that the track serves well as a conclusion for ‘Brokentooth’.

Overall ‘Brokentooth’ is a solid debut for DIVIDES.  It definitely shows maturity and refinement over their previous EP’s.  When you check them out, be sure to listen to more than just the single ‘Echoes Fade’ since that will only give you one side of the band.  Stylistically they cover a broad spectrum, or as Marie described ‘schizophrenic’, but to me it all fit together as multiple facets of a single gem.

Tracklisting: Holes In The Floor – Supersymmetry – The Space Between Branches – Echoes Fade – Sails & Achor – Sirenum Scopuli (Sirens) – Alpenglow – Splay – Drag The River – Vines & Thorns – We Are Fragments

DIVIDES LINKS:

OFFICIAL SITE

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

Category: CD Reviews