Boston's Divine Sweater tap into the kind of stuff that a lot of us really held dear in the Nineties. No retro act, this band updates those styles for the 21st century. And the group's new record, A Time for Everything, really is a fine listen.
On "Light Taker", for example, the crystal-clear vocals of Meghan Kelleher guide a precise series of hooks forward, while opener "Counterparts" recalled for this listener bits from earlier Boston legands, like Blake Babies. Elsewhere, numbers such as "Deep Side" and "Night Glitter" seem like ones which might owe a debt to stuff from The Innocence Mission or Belly, but which stand admirably on their own. The title cut, a real highlight here, blends a New Wave-y keyboard hook with supple work from the rhythm section to provide a setting for Kelleher's warm and direct vocals.
There's so much in the music of Divine Sweater which will earn them comparisons to a few bands like the ones I've already mentioned. And they deserve such comparisons, but there's so much more here too. Divine Sweater have a deft touch, and this material is so well constructed and elegant that a listener will have to just give up and enjoy it without trying so hard to compare the sound to that of past acts.
A Time for Everything by Divine Sweater is out now. Details below.
[Photo: Rachel Turner]