Party Divide: Setting a Tone That Matters (2020)
Can I be honest for a minute? I’m not big on newer music. I’m very much the 41-year-old man who’s extremely diverse in his tastes…so long as that sounds predates the turn of the millennium. There are exceptions, of course, but I’m trying to be more open-minded from a musical perspective.
Good thing for me, too.
For the sake of full disclosure, I will confess that I didn’t seek out Party Divide. Instead, I was turned onto their sound by their lead singer, Laura Barcoe. Laura is a friend met through another creative venture altogether, and she suggested I give them a listen. I dug them enough to go outside of my usual wheelhouse and give a review on the singles they’ve released on Spotify so far. I was honestly surprised by my enjoyment; after all, I’m an old headbanger with a taste for the darker and more subversive side of music; I don’t do message and social relevance!. Party Divide, however, is tapping into something that we’re all feeling in 2020.
“Sea of Filth” has an Evanescence / Garbage kind of sound, if not a bit more “indie” in style. It has a driving beat that isn’t crazy heavy but is certainly rocking hard enough to scratch that itch. I initially thought it was my favorite, but I didn’t realize the best was yet to come.
“Fight and Repeat” calls to mind Bad Religion but with a different message. The one is all about black lives, and it plays at a somewhat frenetic speed as if it’s showing how out of control the problem is. An exceedingly jammable song, “Fight and Repeat” doesn’t let the music drown out the message or vice versa.
“A Hostile Environment” is a song that straight gets after it with a more aggressive and imperative tempo. It keeps a fast beat while giving everyone their turn- vocals out front grabbing your attention, the bass carrying you through, and finishing off with lovely piano work (I’m a sucker for good piano). My favorite of their work so far.
Party Divide offers a different breed of alt rock that says loud and clear that the message (and the voices delivering it) have changed. This definitely isn’t party rock; nonetheless, the jamming sound isn’t sacrificed to the message but is instead enhanced by it. The marriage of social relevance and rock? Well, that’s a relationship that’s stood the test of time.
Party Divide can be found on Spotify and YouTube.
