1 week Ago By Stewart Fisher
IT has just gone 8.30pm on a Glasgow Saturday night and 300 sweaty and enthusiastic Divorcees are crammed into sweaty city centre venue Stereo. Devotees of Nottingham four-piece alt-country act Divorce that is.
2 Fans were packed into Stereo for the sold-out Divorce gig 2 Divorce in full stride: from left, Tiger Cohen-Towell, Adm Peter-Smith, Felix Mackenzie-Barrow, Kasper Sandstrom They're one of the best kept secrets on the indie folk scene and everyone here is in on it. This is a home leg of sorts for Tiger Cohen-Towell, the pocket rocket of a bass player who shares lead vocal duties with childhood pal Felix Mackenzie-Barrow. "I can't believe you sold this out," she says before the BBC 6 Music favourites lurch into All My Freaks.
But in truth this is almost certainly the last chance to see a band this accomplished and this exciting in a venue this size. Read More Music Stories SLOW SHOW The National deliver chaotic & captivating performance to Edinburgh Castle crowd TAKE ME OUT Franz Ferdinand perform storming set at Barrowlands in triumphant homecoming If Beyonce can bring her version of county music to the mainstream why not this quirky, uber-talented little band who have Belle and Sebastian and Queen as major influences. Throw in the theatricality of Kate Bush, the pop hooks of Abba, a generous helping of surrealism and you've almost described their genre-defying USP.
But not quite. Lead guitar player Adam Peter-Smith's filthy but sweet guitar sound and drummer Kasper Sandstrom's driving rhythms also play a major role - and all four band members sing. But it's Cohen-Towell and Mackenzie-Barrow's chiming harmonies which steal the show.
They're not just good, they're a Buckingham-Nicks kind of good. Most read in Music STAR VISITOR Legendary rocker spotted in Glasgow during visit to iconic market RED HOT Amanda Holden looks incredible as she poses in backless figure-hugging red dress rock out Huge UK rock band play final ever gig after 20 years together SWITZ A DREAM Scots X-Factor singer writes Eurovision song for rival nation Divorce are here to promote their newly-released debut album, Drive to Goldenhammer (Gravity Records/Capitol) Life is good - apart from drummer Sandstrom's sniffle - and the banter is flying. Huge pop star cancels THREE tour dates just hours before she's due onstage - leaving fans devastated For instance, they're enthusiastically flogging 17 different items of merchandising, despite the trauma of an attempted sock thief the night before in Leeds who got rumbled but still insisted on watching the show.
"We're going to start wearing them on tour if you don't buy them," Cohen-Towell deadpans. Their hour and a half set - and the album for that matter - is packed full of highlights. A personal favourite is the thundering chorus of 'Lord', a hit single in waiting if ever there was one.
Even on a sweaty Saturday night near you can hear a pin drop on more intimate moments such as the exceptional, experimental 'Pill'. But they close the show on their biggest hit to date - 'Checking Out' - and it just about blows the roof off. It's a quaint little ditty about about a woman in a dysfunctional relationship with 'Bobby' - "who has a good heart but works on weekends but never keeps his promises".
Read more on the Scottish Sun REFFIN' HELL Neil Lennon demands answers from Willie Collum over 'abysmal' refereeing SOUND THE ALARM Scots residents told to expect 'loud warning' siren She's 'getting pretty tired of staying up' so she keeps a steak knife under the bed. And let's just say she isn't afraid to use it. Catch this band while you can.
Divorce really shouldn't be this much fun..
