Divine Fits Unchains A Double-Sided

Most people know that the formation of the Divine Fits can be traced back to Britt Daniel (Spoon) attending a Handsome Furs show and approaching Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs) just to tell Boeckner he had one of the best rock voices he'd ever heard. 

Then Boeckner told Daniel that he used to order Spoon singles through the mail back in high school. More than that, Spoon had convinced Boeckner to give up on the Metallica cover band of his youth and set out on a path that would eventually lead to Wolf Parade. 

The exchange was enough for them to keep in touch, which turned out to be a good thing. The Handsome Furs was about to end; a thing called the Divine Fits was about to begin.

Chained To Love keeps the Divine Fits fresh. 

Almost nobody gave much attention to the double-sided single when it was first released, but then the co-frontmen turned up on Conan to cram the two songs into a four-minute melody that still has people nodding in agreement. The Divine Fits are more than a super group with Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks) and Alex Fischel. They are super performers, who can swap guitars mid-show and give their live performances life on sheer charisma alone.

The two singles are slated to appear on a brand new 12" that will be released this summer, but the singles are good enough that waiting for the album release seems pointless. Here's an upload of the television performance as a preview of things to come.

Conan wasn't the only place that the Divine Fits was making an impression. On June 17, the band set out to lay down a live record at Third Man Records in Nashville. To make it right, they wanted a live audience to give them additional energy. For $10, anybody could join them.

Thy also recorded a crazy outtake of four songs over at Daytrotter a few weeks ago. It's not something most people know about beyond hardcore fans. One track in particular, Neopolitans, is an especially nervy song that pulls you as taut as the uneasy music. Check it out after the double-sided singles. 

The singles themselves are everything you might imagine from Divine Fits. Chained To Love has an indie pop song feel with Boeckner delivering terse vocals against tight playing that will immediately remind anyone of a throwback beat several decades ago, with a strong bass line contrasting with the vocals.

If one thing sounds different from their debut it's that the band is clearly not content unless it's experimenting. The song doesn't have the same meat and grit that Shivers or some of the other picks off A Thing Called The Divine Fits, but it doesn't necessarily have to be cool. 

Ain't That The Way isn't that different either, with Daniel taking over the vocals and delivering a little Spoon to the overall sound. It's mostly more polished like Chained To Love, except with a much more roots rock underbelly driving the verse. 

 Some people might point out that parts of both songs feel like vintage Spoon or Wolf Parade. But that is part of the magic in the exchange that Daniel and Boeckner have been working out. Boeckner in particular has said that he likes revisiting sound and image-driven phrases, hoping to perfect them with every pass. I can only assume that Daniel is on board with this thinking, working to evolve favorites.

Chained To Love Unchains 7.1 On The Liquid Hip Richter Scale.

Listening to the singles really shows some progression as a group, especially in that Fischel doesn't distract but rather brings his talent to the table. If anything, in comparing the album to what might be coming up next, Divine Fits has found a sound worth the snapshot, leaning more pop rock and not so much electronic while celebrating the successes of their co-frontmen.

Chained To Love/Ain't That The Way are available for download on iTunes. You can also find the two singles on Amazon. Both tracks are expected to make the album. For show information, check the band  out on Facebook. The band is busy, with Daniel being even busier with both Spoon and the start of another band soon.