DIVINE FITS play Lee’s Palace September 5. See listing. Rating: NNN
Britt Daniel (Spoon) and Dan Boeckner (ex-Handsome Furs/Wolf Parade) and New Bomb Turks’ Sam Brown are Divine Fits. I don’t know the circumstances surrounding the union, but this debut is definitely divided into Daniel songs and Boeckner songs. And anyone hoping for a radical departure from the sparse, clinical new wave sounds they often tend toward will be disappointed this is as synthy as it comes.
Boeckner’s offerings fare better than Daniel’s in this context. He brings impassioned, sometimes yearning vocals to songs like For Your Heart, and the arrangements are more fully realized. For his part, Daniel contributes some solid lyrics and decent melodies, but his tunes often feel unfinished.
It’s hard to shake the notion that the songs are leftovers from the songwriters’ other bands. If Divine Fits turns out to be more than just a passing phase, maybe the members will drive each other out of their comfort zones.
Top track: Civilian Stripes
