You probably know Divorce by now. Try, however, to describe them and that’s another matter. Their own socials mention country and grunge, but that’s really just half the battle.
So it’s apt that their support for tonight themselves seem to straddle a couple of genres, at least for the tail end of their set, which is all we catch (early start / late arrival, Friday night is club night in Edinburgh, y’see).
Curiosity Shop then. From Scotland – Glasgow, their bio says, though the reception they get suggests that a fair few friends and family have made the trip along the M8. We’re assuming that the tune they’re playing as we arrive is on point, a swelling mix of the Mumfords and current flavour of the month Brògeal, all strong harmonies and accordion flourishes.
Then, as they close their set, we’re transported to, well, Glasgow if it’s the Grand Ole Opry. A real hoedown only missing the banjos that’s surely a one-off deviation from their usual sound. Surely?
As the lights go down for a very ‘headliner’ intro, it becomes clear that Walt Disco are not the second support despite being touted on Divorce’s social media. Maybe for the best as the Glasgow art pop combo’s genre-bending ’80s glam-electro mix might be a musical style shift too far.
Divorce have been on the road for what seems to be the past couple of years, the ‘Drive To Goldenhammer’ tour having taken in maybe 30 or more UK and European venues in the past eight months. Including a Scottish stop in April, which frontwoman Tiger Cohen-Towell declared as “the best city” (Glasgow, natch). Edinburgh’s famously restrained audience have some living up to do but the reception as the band arrive on La Belle Angele’s stage is pretty welcoming.
We also learn that the last time the band played Edinburgh it was at the considerably smaller Sneaky Pete’s – “there’s so many of you,” the singer exclaims, before the band hit us squarely between the ears with what is a decidedly rock, not country, set. While those early shows were scratchy and tentative, the Nottingham four-piece have developed into a tight, punchy unit, with Cohen-Towell’s power vocal and confident stage presence at the forefront.
We’re on the last leg of the promo for ‘Goldenhammer’ now and while naturally we get the bulk of that album – opening with ‘Karen’ and ‘Jet Show’ – the set is interspersed with oldies, the bass-heavy thudding intro of ‘Gears’ still a welcome set regular.
The non-album tracks are mainly from the breakthrough ‘Heady Metal’ compilation – sadly, no ‘Birds’ but ‘Eat My Words’ with its loud-quiet dynamic an as-ever impressive addition.
We’re also treated to a couple of new tracks, one “barely out of the house,” says Felix Mackenzie-Barrow. It’s got a towering riff and an unexpected 4×4 breakdown, and of course a BIG chorus. It’s Divorce after all.
Cohen-Towell chats engagingly with the enthusiastic crowd – how a local (Nottingham) publication has held a vote where ‘Goldenhammer’ lost by 85% when put up against Sam Fender’s album, and there’s some musings on gig merch – their tour support are selling hand-crafted ceramics, but all Divorce can offer is scarves (half and half?) – still handy for wrapping your pottery in though, the band point out.
There’s an oft-quoted piece of received wisdom that the majority of songwriters will fail to better the first dozen or so songs they pen, and Divorce have set the bar pretty high for themselves. And ‘Sex And The Millennium Bridge’ and ‘Scratch Your Metal’ – both predating the debut album proper – have set the bar pretty high. However, ‘Antarctica’, with a softer poppier feel but not lacking in the complexities that make this band’s material some of the best currently on offer, suggest that this musical well is for from dry. And even a track like ‘Lord’, which rather goes unnoticed among the album’s high quality tracks, is given added heft life for a worthy closer.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned tonight, it’s that Edinburgh audiences may be ready to make the step up and out of Glasgow’s shadow as a worthwhile touring stop. The reception for their encore is bolstered with the arrival onstage of Jan from Curiousity Shop, on accordion for an early present – well, this second new track apparently has “Christmas” in the title. And to close, a song “about murder”, ‘Checking Out’, a hoedown in the best possible sense.
Ok, yes, it is country, but not as we know it. Dolly and Kenny never sounded like this.
Also chief newshound at Jockrock
Related