The Great Divide came to my attention four years ago when they released their second release White Bird. At that time The Great Divide reminded me of bands like Stretch Arm Strong (Rituals Of Life era) and Counterparts. It’s been four years since that day. I’ve listened to White Bird a couple of times since and now also pick up a Comeback Kid vibe. Not sure how I missed that four years ago… However, when Linger Over, Linger On turned up in the promo bin I was happy to pick it up. It surprises me a bit to find out this was only their third release. This is also good news (to me at least) as it’s an explanation for the fact I completely missed al news around The Great Divide that I like better than “I must have lived under a rock the past four years”.
So, four years have passed, did The Great Divide spent them well? The answer to that question is not that simple, unfortunately. Let’s first look at the bright side! The band has developed over time. Linger Over, Linger On sounds a bit different from White Bird. On Linger Over, Linger On you’ll find more melodies, more sing-alongs and a breakdown hear and there. The influences are still there, but The Great Divide is now playing more a game of their own this time around, even though it’s a return to (melodic and modern) hardcore roots in a way.
The downside of this album is that it doesn’t really stick with you. With melodic hardcore like this I want the music to be catchy. After listening to an album the first time I should be able to go to a concert and be able to shout along the sing-along parts etc. This is not the case with Linger Over, Linger On. And it’s bothering me that I can’t point out where the band is lacking. All the ingredients for success are there, but a success it’s not. I guess this where I get to say: sorry, it’s not you, it’s me... It saddens me to say, but even after spinning the album a dozen times there’s still not much that stands out to me or that I recognize.
Is this a hard album to listen, then? No, absolutely not! Linger Over, Linger on is great stuff to have playing on the back ground. It doesn’t ask for you attention and a lot of your (hardcore) friends will find something in there that they can like. If they are distracted enough to pay attention to that background noise.
In the end I can only conclude that The Great Divide is doing nothing wrong on these twelve tracks, but they are also not doing anything spectacular. Therefore I suggest you check these lads out if you are really into the bands mentioned in this review. If you’re not, but are interested in this kind of music, please focus on different bands.
