I wouldn’t go as far as to suggest that “The Divide” has a gothic sound, not in that broader, journalistic and genre sense, but it certainly runs on an ornately gothic attitude. In the same way that the likes of, say, Nick Cave employ such a sonic backdrop, here we find a salvo of apocalyptic blues twangs firing through a mesh of shoegaze density, brooding bass rumbles rooting the song as slightly controlled chaos ebbs and flows over the top.
It’s dark, yes, but delicious too, not the maudlin melody or idealised romance of the gothic set, but a lively collision of post-punk pioneering and alt-rock intensity.
And as powerful and sonically poignant as the music is, the lyrics are doubly so. Written in 2022, possibly with memories of lockdown and separation still vivid, but just as relevant today for slightly different yet no less palpable reasons, “The Divide” is a musing and exploration of ideas of isolation and loneliness.
As we become increasingly locked in a doom-waltz pas de deux with screens and scrolling, media and social anxiety, it seems that, ironically, the more connected the world becomes, the more alone we feel.
As main man Ray Vale explains, “True isolation is a mindset, and deep down, I believe we want to break free from it.” “The Divide,” therefore, is a riotous, rabble-rousing rallying cry to break the cycle and return to our tribal instincts, our pack animal nature, and a more connected, more present and more sociable existence, just as we have evolved to be.
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