A Thing Called Divine Fits Album Review

When I first heard that “the dude from Spoon has a new band with a guy from Wolf Parade”, I was stoked beyond belief. Members from two of the great indie-rock bands in recent history joining forces to create a whole new, dare I say, “group of superiority” known as Divine Fits. The lineup includes Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner, Britt Daniel from Spoon and New Bomb Turks’ Sam Brown. So it’s not a surprise this album is pretty much everything you could wish for if you are a fan of Spoon and/or Boeckner’s Wolf Parade songs. Some of you might be familiar with Boeckner’s other project, Handsome Furs, an indie/electronic duo consisting of he and his wife, Alexei Perry, but the majority of my experience with the Canadian rocker lies amongst the three striking albums from Wolf Parade. There is certainly an electronic influence here but the digital effects aren’t forced and there is plenty of guitar to go around. The synths have a voice all their own and truly serve as a complement to the contagious head-nodding beats.

Album opener “My Love Is Real” perfectly encapsulates Dan Boeckner’s singing style and earnest mood while the spooky Halloween-esque piano riff sets the pace for a song that is both slow-building and intense. “Flaggin A Ride” sounds exactly like Spoon but I must admit I love it as much as any of the other Spoon-ful clap-happy classics. “For Your Heart” and “Shivers” are two superb songs that best illustrate the Divine Fits’ hybrid style as they blend addictive beats with well-placed driving guitar. With Boeckner singing on “Heart” and Daniels on “Shivers”, each tune showcases the respective singers giving it their all with passionate vocals and straining fervor. I’ll be honest, once or twice I lost track of who was actually singing. There is no Spencer Krug (former Wolf Parade co-frontman) of course and while I do miss his maniacal energy and song-writing, Britt Daniel fills that role with a frenzy and vigor all his own. Divine Fits is certainly in a happier place than Wolf Parade was and the songs are slightly more rockin’ than Spoon’s tick-tock approach. At 42 minutes long, this album is a very enjoyable and a perfectly paced listen. A Thing called Divine Fits emerges from the gate as one of my favorites so far this year. And the sound called Divine Fits is a welcome contribution to rock n roll from two of the best players in the game.

A Thing Called Divine Fits is streaming at NRP in its entirety up to its August 28th release date.

Divine Fits – My Love is Real from Divine Fits on Vimeo.

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Matt

Matt is one of the founding members of Merchants of Rock, and an all around good guy. He spends his days as an Art Director at The Meridian Group, a fancy schmancy group of ad wizards, and his nights as a featured writer for MOR