Live Review: Divorce at Islington Assembly Hall
Rising Nottingham quartet Divorce, whose music captivatingly straddles country, grunge, and indie-punk, took to Islington Assembly Hall last week for a night that was dripping with musical excellence.
Islington Assembly Hall was packed out with buzzing concertgoers on Wednesday night, as rising four-piece Divorce took their three-week UK tour to London for a momentous closing night.
Opening with an impressive sold-out four-night stint in hometown Nottingham, the UK tour follows the release of the group’s new single All My Freaks, which will appear on their debut album Drive to Goldenhammer, set to drop in March 2025.
With the release of their debut album still to come, the Nottingham group is already climbing through the music scene with full force. The group has an impressive portfolio of EPs and singles under their belt, all of which showcase a richly mixed sound that feels refreshingly unique. Top that with a string of festival appearances as well as support slots with Sheffield pop artist Self Esteem and art rock band Everything Everything, and it’s blindingly clear to see where the night’s mammoth crowd had come from.
Opened by support act Blood Wizard, Wednesday’s night of music started on a buzzing note that remained unwavering until its closure.
First song Gears was instantly punchy, opening with a strong beat paired with an optimistic guitar riff. While the group’s sound remains characteristically genre-defying, the song felt representative of Divorce’s most prominent sonic identity, which is simultaneously grungy and raw as well as bright and symphonious.
Up next was Birds, which features a mellow, pulsing backing that swells into resolved, hopeful choruses dotted with a powerful repeated mantra, “I wanna be good to you, I wanna be good to myself’”.
The group’s airy, energetic sound continued to prevail in next song All My Freaks, Divorce’s latest release and perhaps one of their best yet. Packed with bright riffs, the song felt brilliantly nostalgic and youthful, showcasing the four-piece’s remarkable ability to build worlds of momentous depth and feeling through their music.
Following a number of unreleased songs, Scratch Your Metal was up next, a punk-influenced hit that explores the conflicting emotions of being in love with someone yet simultaneously fearing the loss of them, as well as accepting one another as flawed within a relationship. Ravishingly overlaid sounds feel simultaneously harmonious and at war throughout the track.
Emotive hit Sex & The Millenium Bridge, which opened the group’s Heady Metal EP showcased a slight turn in the group’s sound, oozing with vulnerability and melancholy but underscored by continued raspiness and vocal clarity closing with a wailing guitar solo.
What remained most striking throughout the set was the band’s chemistry– bassist Tiger Cohen-Towell and guitarist Felix Mackenzie-Barrow flawlessly executed every ambitious vocal harmony, bouncing off each other with impressive energy, while Adam Peter-Smith on guitar and Kasper Sandstrom on percussion skilfully conjured up intoxicatingly well blended sonic landscapes. A number of noteworthy unreleased songs proved the band’s great potential for upcoming releases
Like a number of the group’s other tracks, unreleased song Antarctica felt especially country infused, with a steady, laid back beat and tender lyrics. Heavier sounding, indie-rock track My Room followed, which gradually intensifies into a punchy guitar solo yet remains vulnerable in its lyricism.
Other highlights of the set included the steadily energetic unreleased Hangman, as well as slower, sensitive track Heaven Is A Long Way, which joined together to display the Nottingham band’s captivating versatility.
“This is sort of the country music section,” they announced, before launching into the last few songs of the night, which included older, celebrated hits including Eat My Words, a raw, blistering ballad, as well as Checking Out, the group’s most played song which enjoys punchy guitar moments, scratchy, twanging vocals and rock-infused angst. The catchy hit saw almost the entirety of the Islington venue singing along, a testament to the group’s lofty, ever-growing strength.
To close the night, Divorce returned for the encore with loved early releases That Hill and Services. Vulnerable track That Hill, which was written as a response to a time of financial struggle and overwork amongst the band, reached new levels of rawness through an alternative, stripped back arrangement. Opening with a slower start and pared back sound, the track enjoyed exposed vocals and soft electric guitar backing, drawing a focus to the tune’s evocative lyrics: “If I make it up that hill I swear I’ll never come down again”.
Closing track Services, the band’s debut single, offered an energetic closure to the night of music, with a strong beat, arresting vocals and angsty guitar lashings. Divorce’s energy was palpable– packed with impassioned cries and an aggressive bassline, the closing track, along with the rest of their set, showcased just how intriguingly beautiful genre-crossing sound can be. With an ever-evolving, always magnificent sound that’s not showing any sign of shrinking, Divorce is certainly a group to keep your eye on.
Photography by Emma Last