Review Summary: The catchiest album you've never heard, with some of the worst vocals you'll ever hear if you do decide to give this a spin.
Divide the Day –
Pretty Girls with Ugly Boys
At the time of recording,
Divide the Day was (They are a Myspace band, so there is hardly any lineup info):
Joey – Vocals
Billy – Bass
Kevin – Guitar
Matt – Drums
There have frequently been times in my life where I’ve been infatuated by a band that nobody else around me seems to like, and then I’m hit by divine intervention, or something of the sort, and I realize the band is mediocre if not terrible.
Divide the Day, a Southern California four-piece signed to Pluto Records, was one of those numerous bands I loved as a naïve youngster. They blended (they are now hardcore-country or something else equally ridiculous) punk and pop rock with hardcore tendencies and created some of the most unoriginal music around, that somehow managed to sound unique. Maybe it was because their vocalist effectively mixed the most dreadful singing and screaming you will ever hear into almost every song, or maybe and hopefully it was due to the fact that none of the songs on here sound the same.
This album is catchy to say the least, as it integrates a countless number of vocal hooks and simple, enjoyable riffs, backed by plain chorus-based song structures. Unfortunately, the riffs are restricted to the shortest arpeggios you’ll hear and blatantly obvious rip-offs.
The Amazing Bro Basher 5000 (all track titles are this absurd) opens with an essentially shortened take on the opening bit of
Unholy Confessions, and even worse,
The Annexation of Puerto Rico opens with an even worse take on Bro Basher. Adding to a list of faults, without spending time explaining some non-existent bass, the drumming on this album is horrendous. Not only does every fill sound alike, but the also similar beats are overproduced to the point where they are far too prominent. It isn’t a sign of good things to come when the first thing one notices on a mainstream-influenced album is the bland drumming, but the band manages to overcome this blemish with the catchiness that ensues.
The lyrics here, which will be comprehended, are very straightforward and lacking metaphorically, encompassing relationship issues, people trying to be anything but themselves, and everything else mainstream pop-punk will oh so boldly delve into. The aforementioned awful vocals can be enjoyed, as there are moments of tremendously intense screaming and clean vocals creeping towards decent. They really do make use of almost every vocal hook I’ve ever heard, it’s just they do a very poor job. Some of the better moments though are when the heavier vocals and lighter ones are done simultaneously, resulting in plenty of adrenaline-inducing, melodic moments.
If one gives this album a spin for kicks, there are a multitude of enjoyable tracks on here, with very few sounding the same despite similar structure. The countless bridges are pulled off very climactically, and end up being some of the best sections on the album. There is enough vocal switching (heavy to clean and vice-versa) and differing melodic instrumental lines to keep
Pretty Girls with Ugly Boys original within itself, yet it is apparent that everything here has been pulled off before across similar genres. The band gave acoustic work a shot with
Strive and
Those We Love the Most Never Truly Leave Us, and in essence fail because of the again god awful singing, although the main guitar bit and cymbal work in the latter is impressive in comparison with the rest of the album. There is even an instrumental track on here (with some harsh vocals at the very end),
East Willock Road, that while lacking in intricacy is relaxing and a much needed break from the rest of the unnecessarily long album.
Divide the Day’s first effort isn’t impressive by any stretch, but it would have been a solid foundation for a promising career (assuming they didn’t completely change genres a year later). They played by the book and incorporated as many elements as one can to achieve mainstream popularity, while unfortunately being signed to a label that is anything but mainstream. The abundant flaws are shamefully evident, but when avoiding the urge to bash the band for them, there are plenty of fine tracks on this recording.
Their Myspace is currently featuring their newer works, so to check this album out you can look on iTunes or use file-sharing websites.
Pros:
Catchiness
Memorable guitar lines
Despite nothing too epic, there are some fitting climactic moments for the genre.
Although the band is fairly generic, the album is pretty well varied, with an instrumental track and a couple of acoustic tracks.
Cons:
Vocals – The singing is bad and the screaming is a higher-pitched
Atreyu circa
Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses
Drumming
Where’s the bass at?
Simple song structure
Album has too many songs
Obnoxious song titles
Recommended Tracks:
File This Under Great Ideas At The Time
Jesus Is Coming…Look Busy
We Don’t Mean To Impose, But We’re A Hit In This Week’s Gossip Column
Everybody In Florida Wears Running Shoes
Tracks That Fail:
!Totally Outrageous Por Favor! – This almost made my ears bleed. It has some of their current country sound, and quite possibly the worst solo ever recorded.
The Amazing Bro Basher 5000
Strive
Score: This can be enjoyable if you can stand the vocals, but it isn’t very good overall.
2.5/5
