FEATURE: Spotlight: Divorce — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Evans via The Independent

Divorce

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A band who…

PHOTO CREDIT: Rosie Sco

have a pretty busy start to the year in terms of gigs, I am a little late to the Divorce party. They are a band who have established themselves as ones to watch. Featuring on stations like BBC Radio 6 Music, you need to get behind this force! The Nottingham band released their first single, Services, in 2022…so they are still quite new. In the past year or so, they have made big steps and released a string of great singles. The Alt-Country and Grunge-fuelled project from Nottingham consists of Kasper Sandstrom, Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, Tiger Cohen-Towell and Adam Peter-Smith. I am going to get to a few interviews with the band. Felix from Divorce spoke with Wax Music UK last year about the formation of the band and their development:

“It’s somewhat fortunate for Nottingham quartet Divorce that they’re adept at grinding the best out of these potentially awkward situations, and if their experience of the last year is anything to go by, they’ve got a canny ability to swing the approval of a room. This is down to a combination of their consummate professionalism on stage, their playful candour, and most of all their knack for penning earworms of the highest calibre. Having all plied their trade in other bands in their hometown circuit and beyond, they’ve certainly used their expertise to elevate their output to new levels under this new guise.

Now twelve months on from the release of their first single, ‘Services’, it’s hard to deny that Divorce have experienced a whirlwind of a year, culminating in the release of the four tracks that make up their debut EP Get Mean. The resulting record careers between a raw and grungy sound and country-flecked indie balladry, and while those may sit at rather opposing opposites of the musical spectrum, it’s a winning combination for Divorce. While the songs are ultimately a slick mix of their dry wit and tight musicianship, it’s the interplay between vocalists Tiger Cohen-Towell and Felix McKenzie-Barrow that stand out as the stars of the show, crafting impeccable harmonies that often catch the listener off guard.

After the two spent years together performing under the name Megatrain, Tiger and Felix clearly have this bond that creates magic when they collaborate, and Divorce is no exception to that. With the additions of singer-songwriter Adam Peter Smith on guitar and Do Nothing guitarist Kasper Sandstrom on drums, their sound is elevated to a greater level, and once you witness it unfold both live and on record, it’s no wonder they’re able to provide that star factor.

Speaking at the tail end of last year prior to the release of Get Mean, I spoke to Felix about the spectacular breakout year Divorce have had, their coming together as a band, and what lies ahead for the group in 2023.

Was having a more diverse input from the others a major factor in wanting to expand?

Adam and Kasper were people we’ve always respected massively as musicians, and we knew that we would work. It was a conscious decision to open the room of thoughts a bit wider and I think that’s enabled us to have more faith in our decisions and pick each other up when we’re not feeling good. As well as the band having a really strong ensemble presence, the team around us has been great as well.

Was the idea for Divorce already floating around before the other members came along?

I think there were a few songs that were written in a limbo period where we were unsure whether we were going to carry on Megatrain or do something different. ‘Checking Out’ is one of those that we wrote a while back, maybe four or five months before we started Divorce. Some stuff has been sitting there a little while, and it’s been really nice to revisit that as the four of us, but the bulk of it has happened pretty organically as a four-piece. I think largely it feels nicer to share that with all the members.

A lot of people have been quick to make comparisons to alt-country, which is something that there isn’t as much of here in the UK. Where do you stand on this labelling, and what do you feel you have to offer towards it?

I think it’s a tricky one, because I wouldn’t say I know the country culture enough to wholeheartedly say that we’re making country music. That comes from a whole different world to anything we really know, but I think maybe we have an instinct for writing folk songs essentially. Maybe when you add a band to that it becomes country – I don’t know. We’re quite heavily inspired by a lot of US music. Tiger and I had the chance to do a few dates with The Felice Brothers in Ireland while we were playing as the backing band for our friend Lorkin O’Reilly, which was pretty special. Coming back from those shows, we felt really inspired, and their records have inspired us for a long time. There’s something that I feel is sometimes missing from band stuff in the UK; there’s a lack of warmth that I think we want to feel running through our music. As long as there’s a warmth that feels as human and imperfect as possible, while still being listenable, that’s the aim.

Obviously a lot can change in a short space of time, and the band hasn’t existed for that long so it can be hard to put stuff into perspective. With that in mind, do you feel that this collection of tracks best represents you currently, how you have been leading up to now, or where things are heading in the future?

Altogether I feel like it’s a pretty good example of how we’ve grown over this first year. We played our first show in late 2021, and the music didn’t start getting released until a little while after that, so it definitely is a marker of where we’ve been and maybe the last two tracks on it (‘Checking Out’ and ‘That Hill’) are possibly the most closely linked out of the four. When we did ‘Services’ we kind of bashed it out and didn’t bother with any overdubs playing how we’d play live, and while that’s fun and a good place to start, I think those two show we’ve opened our minds a bit more to the instrumentation and aesthetics. We’ve allowed the softness and some of the subtleties that come with it to come through, and maybe having a little more confidence in ourselves has allowed us to not be fighting so hard. It’d be nice to carry that on into the new year, and whatever comes after this we’ll be a bit more prepared to tackle”.

I am going to move on to a couple of interviews from fairly recently. Before that, DIY spoke with Divorce in September. They had announced their fantastic E.P., Heady Metal. There was a lot of excitement around a band who were growing in stature and confidence. Their live shows getting so much acclaim and positivity. If you have not found the Nottingham quartet yet then do make sure that you check them out. One of the U.K.’s premier and most promising young bands:

“Your debut EP 'Get Mean' came out last year, and its follow up 'Heady Metal' is due to arrive in November. How do you feel you've developed as a band between the two releases?

Tiger: I think this EP feels far more intentional as a body of work, and although with an EP there’s less pressure to do anything except put your best songs forward, they definitely feel like they illustrate the last year for us personally and professionally. Things have moved pretty fast since the last release; we’ve had to wise up to a lot of things fast and sort of get our ducks in a row. At times it’s felt rushed but I think that’s been exhilarating in a way; this is the fastest we’ve ever turned around songs, it’s nice to not have to sit on them for too long.

You're from Nottingham - how would you describe the regional scene around there? Who are some other local artists we should check out?

Felix: It’s a lovely close-knit scene, and for a small city there’s always tons going on. Catmilk and Victory Lap are really exciting us at the moment and you should get to know!

'Heady Metal' explores concepts of identity, vulnerability, and intense periods of personal change. What prompted the shift in focus from the character studies of your earlier work?

Tiger: Getting older, and also being a bit more relaxed about lyrical subject matter in general. Before, I felt like we were very much writing for Divorce, and trying to figure out what we wanted to say as a band, and although that was fun I think on this EP we wanted to pour more of our personal experiences into it. I think with the way that the band has been sculpting our lives lately, that shift was inevitable.

You're going on a tour of the UK this November. What can fans expect from a Divorce live show?

Felix: I hope people leave our shows feeling uplifted and like they’ve been part of something genuinely live, in that it’s never quite the same each time. We don’t like to plan things too heavily, because we get a lot more joy from the spontaneity of it. Apart from all the stunts we make Adam do. They have to be planned meticulously because they could cause serious harm to him or the rest of us”.

I am going to get to some new interviews with Divorce. Left Lion chatted with Divorce last month. With Heady Metal out in the world and getting a load of love, there was a tonne of anticipation and curiosity. This will all translate and transfer to the live arena when they take the songs on the road. Go and see Divorce play if you can. Such a magnetic and magnificent band to see in the flesh:

“They credit Nottingham's music scene not only for what it has done for them since Divorce formed, but also for introducing them to each other in the first place. "None of us would have met each other without all of the shows that happen every day of the week in Nottingham - open mics and things like that at JamCafe, The Bodega... Those venues mean a lot to us," Felix says. "It's a connected web - we all had different projects before Divorce even formed, and we were admiring each other’s projects from afar," Tiger adds.

Their “darkly humorous” name was chosen due to its “strong and memorable” nature, and it has definitely generated some humorous remarks - from fans saying ‘my husband/wife isn’t going to like this’ at the merch table, to a direct message from a man whose T-shirt arrived in the post on the exact day that his divorce was finalised. "Maybe we'll have an era where we all get married and we can sing about that!" Felix laughs. "I do wonder sometimes if it will be my downfall... I was thinking of getting a tattoo of it, but what if I want to get married one day?"

Heady Metal will have been released by the time you are reading this, but they promise that there are more surprises up their sleeves that are still yet to be revealed. "There are some visuals coming with one of the songs that will blow all your heads off because they’re so ridiculous," Tiger says. "It should come with a warning, really - a trigger warning!" Adam laughs, "You won't be able to unsee it." Felix adds: "We haven't seen the edit yet but there's no way it can't be terrifying and frightening - but also incredibly…” he pauses for suspense, “breath-taking." Very intriguing...

Even though there were a handful of unreleased songs from the EP when I was speaking to them, they already found that people were singing the words back to them at their shows. "They don't all boo when we play them, at least!" Felix laughs. "It's always a bit less of a reaction, of course, but people who come to a lot of shows do know them even though they're unreleased." Tiger adds; "For a while, people have been singing the chorus to Eat My Words. Divorce fans love to sing!" With all of the debate about gig etiquette right now, it's refreshing to hear that Divorce fans are a nice, respectful bunch.

This month will see the band perform at a sold-out Rescue Rooms, the biggest venue on their headline tour. "That is really silly to us. This far in advance, it just feels wild,” Felix laughs. “Even though it’s our hometown show, it was actually one of the slowest selling ones," Adam admits, something that he says that Willie J Healey also experienced with his hometown show in Oxford that was taking place that evening. But then Tiger, pointing out that it is double the size of the other venues they are playing, adds, “It's an iconic venue to us, and being able to play to that many people in Nottingham will be a privilege."

The radio plays that the band have received from Steve Lamacq of 6 Music has helped them to gain new fans, who have visibly been supporting Divorce by turning up to their shows. “I was sitting outside the venue after we played last night; I was eating some fried chicken. This guy came along wearing a really big hat and asked me to shake his hand but my hands were covered in chicken,” Felix says. “But I shook his hand anyway, and he said he’d heard us through 6 Music. Radio fans listen to your music, and they don’t care if your hands are covered in chicken!” he laughs”.

Divorce have been tipped by a few sites as ones to watch this year. DIY initiated them in their Class of 2024. A band with a lot of momentum behind them, this promise is going to be fulfilled through the year. The more gigs they do, the more that experience and confidence goes into their music. A quartet impossible to ignore:

“The EP they’re toasting today, ‘Heady Metal’, represents a notable leap forward from 2022’s debut ‘Get Mean’. Where, around that period, the band were often labelled as ‘country-punk’, from swelling centrepiece ‘Right On Time’ to the synthy ‘Scratch Your Metal’, their latest is far less categorisable. Rather than genre, the throughline is in the feeling: a collection of songs that look inward and process change with a poetic, sometimes yearning, often dryly humorous turn of phrase. “Oh, it’s the year of me! I’m fixing all of my devices,” goes opener ‘Sex & the Millenium Bridge’; “I wanna be beautiful / I wanna be good to myself,” cries the cathartic chorus of ‘Birds’.

Talking about the tracks, Tiger references the idea of an “emotional zeitgeist”. “It’s the flare up of feeling when you’re going through big changes,” they say. “A zeitgeist is usually used on a more societal level, but the way that, as people, we just commit to eras emotionally and then come out and look back on them feeling really different…” “And then bring that reflection into the present with the new light it throws on it,” picks up Felix. “There was a lot of self-examination.”

Divorce on their recent EP 'Heady Metal' and having Self Esteem as a fanDivorce on their recent EP 'Heady Metal' and having Self Esteem as a fanDivorce on their recent EP 'Heady Metal' and having Self Esteem as a fan

PHOTO CREDIT: Ed Miles

Though Divorce is still a fairly new project, Felix and Tiger have been writing together for the best part of a decade, from when they were just 16. “Back when we were little rascals, running around Nottingham,” Tiger laughs. It’s an evidently close-knit bond that comes through in the increasing nuance of their music. “It feels like there’s a lot of songs coming out and we just have to work out which ones hold hands,” says Felix. “We’re finding subtler and subtler ways of connecting.”

Though they joke about the lingering effects of their previous theatrical forays (“I think we’re quite annoying people; acting kind of inherently requires you to be a bit annoying,” laughs Felix), there’s a lack of inhibition and pretension to the band that allows them to put their feelings out there, warts and all. “The aesthetics of this band are very emotionally-driven instead of what looks cool, and if what’s right for the song means making ourselves look silly or being theatrical then that’s how we’ll do it,” says Tiger. “That lack of worrying about what your body or face looks like and just worrying about the emotional intensity of it, that’s something we’ve got from acting.” “I’ve never found a successful way of looking cool,” Felix sighs as Adam affirms: “But that’s why you ARE cool…”

One person who certainly agrees with him is Rebecca Lucy Taylor, aka Self Esteem, who’s been shouting about the band on Instagram at every opportunity. “She will NOT leave us alone…” jokes Tiger. Earlier this year, when Divorce were very much still in their infancy, she handpicked them to support on a smattering of shows. “She’s so supportive. To bring us on the shows we did with her… it’s not every day someone takes you to the prom,” Felix smiles.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ed Miles

Next up, alongside a Spring 2024 support tour with Everything Everything, is a move towards a coyly-described “larger amount of music”. Whatever form that takes, they’ll have to top ‘Heady Metal’’s anarchic cover shoot day, for which they shipped in a room full of dogs to join them. “For half an hour it was the best, and then the other half an hour it was like… OK, now they’re pissing,” recalls Kaspar. “I was the only one who got pissed on!” retorts Felix. “It was a 4D scratch and sniff kind of experience, except I didn't even have to scratch. The owners would throw treats at us, so not only were we covered in piss, we were covered in treats, and then covered in dogs.”

Fun, messy, sweet and silly, it’s an image that suits Divorce well. Their music might come firmly from the tangled depths of the heart, but they’re also relishing every win they can whilst putting it all out there. “It feels like the last six months have been pretty mental in terms of the snowballing we’ve been doing,” says Kaspar, as Felix continues: “People are giving us the chance to do the thing we’ve wanted to do for ages.” Tiger nods: “We’re THIS close to the chance”.

If you do not know about Divorce, then go and follow them on social media and ensure that you check out their music. What a sensational band we have in our midst! They have released a terrific E.P. in Heady Metal. They will expand on this throughout the year. I am excited to see where they will head through the year. Even though they have been together a short time, Divorce have made big strides. Their formation and success is a…