Divine Fits ‘A Thing Called Divine Fits’

Words by Lauren Gill

What do you get when you combine Spoon’s Britt Daniel with Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner, and New Bomb Turks’ Sam Brown? As you might have guessed, the result is not an easy one to put words to. If I were going to begin to describe it, the sound would be somewhere between classic rock with that hand clapping, synthed out shimmy.

Make sense? If you didn’t quite get that, just take away that Divine Fits’ A Thing Called Divine Fits executes the art of mixing eclectic rhythms with relatable lyricism and memorable instrumentation.

The 11 song LP, coming in at just under 45 minutes, kicks off with ‘Would that Not Be Nice’, a track that could easily be mistaken for something off a Spoon album. It’s got that alluring feel that Britt Daniel’s voice effortlessly adds to any song. After the first twenty seconds you’ll realize that this supergroup might just live up to its name after all.

While the sounds are cohesive, the tracks vary between smooth, laid-back, guitar-heavy and garage band-esque free-for-alls. ‘Shivers’ calls in a southern classic rock vibe, complete with a dirty guitar solo outro. It is by far one of the most solid tracks on A Thing Called Divine Fits, as Daniel proclaims, “there is no such thing as cheap regret” while singing about how “the sound of her name sends a shiver down my spine”.

Another highlight comes with ‘Civilian Stripes’, an upbeat track with a purely melodic combination of the acoustic guitar and piano. Its clear that the trio know what type of sound works for them, and while some tracks can be described as nothing more than filler, you’ll find yourself hooked on some songs that are exactly what you’d hope to hear from the supergroup.

The album ends up with ‘Baby Gets Worse’, a jumpy, new-age gem. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself singing, “My heart was beating in and out of time”, after a few listens. The trio even employ a synth which they use to their advantage to concoct a spaced out sound.

So do you still not understand what classic rock with that hand clapping synthed out shimmy means? I don’t really either, but it makes sense if you give A Thing Called Divine Fits a listen. The LP plays on the strengths of each member which will have you rejoicing that they finally got the sense to get together to make music. Isn’t that the point of a supergroup after all?