Divine Fits: A Thing Called Divine Fits

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It seems as though “supergroups” have become the latest trend in rock music. Each year, scores of musicians are setting aside their traditional outputs and collaborating on releases with contemporaries or like-minded thinkers. The autumn of 2012 brings forth Divine Fits. In the accompanying press notes for their debut album, A Thing Called Divine Fits, the wise Gerard Cosley warns listeners to not judge the band’s music by its’ members prior output.  And while I’m of the mind to agree with his thoughts towards this album-centric approach, I find an honest critique of Divine Fits simply can’t avoid the topic of the guys’ other musical involvement; mainly because their respective “day jobs” if you will, are so prominent within the indie-rock community. 

Britt Daniel has built Spoon into a juggernaut by releasing mesmerizing album after mesmerizing album for close to 15 years. Dan Boeckner oozes catchy hooks and creativity, with both Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs, the recently disbanded project he shared with wife Alexei Perry. And playing Chris Bosh to Daniel’s LeBron and Boeckner’s Dwyane Wade, is drummer Sam Brown of Ohio’s criminally underrated New Bomb Turks. Here, the three have crafted a delectable collection of tunes that flow by with breezy and charming aplomb. It’s great and eminently listenable; the only catch is that it plays like a song trade-off between Daniel and Boeckner, leaving listeners with the feeling of a split LP rather than a new or uniquely recorded document. 

Daniel nails the hip swagger of “Would That Not Be Nice” and the gutsy bravado of “Flaggin’ A Ride”, but the songs still sound like vintage Spoon.  Boeckner is all jittery limbs and bones on tracks like “Baby Get Worse” and “For Your Heart”, but the sounds reflect the mood of his other bands.  There are smatterings of joint give-and-take, particularly in the edgy arrangement of Nick Cave’s “Shivers”, but overall the album needs more in the way of alliance. Played on shuffle, there will be little room to discern a Divine Fits song from a Spoon, Wolf Parade, or Handsome Furs one.  I bet the three of these guys can really put a unique brand of music out there, but the album lessens the feeling of collaboration and instead focuses on the individual members’ strengths.  To borrow the above basketball metaphor, Daniel dunks, Boeckner dribbles and drives, and Brown rebounds.  A little more muddiness in their respective assignments might have made for a more prominent album. 

In the end, though, perhaps we should all heed Cosley’s advice and just enjoy the music.  The world is a better place with Daniel’s, Boeckner’s, and Brown’s music in it, regardless of format, name, or packaging.

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