Label: Independent
Release Date: 23rd February 2018
The Divided Line, named after the Platonic concept that seeks to explain the discrepancies between the visible and intelligible realm and our perceptions of them, are a quartet hailing from Toronto. Their latest release, Paramnesia, is a six track EP exploring themes of deception, misrememberance and reality with a focus on introverted and complex song writing, set against a progressive metal backdrop.
Breathe is the starting track and it initiates proceedings with a choppy feel and lyrically begins to explore the theme of confused selfhood and identity from the off; ‘become one with you and you’ll never be alone.’ The band cite Pearl Jam as a major influence and you can hear shades of Eddie Vedder in the earnestness of the vocals. The song switches things up a couple of times making for a fairly strong opener.
Dimensional comes out of the starting blocks a little faster and keeps this pace up pretty much for the whole song. The stop start quality is deployed well, with vocals and drums interweaving effectively. Things alter a little with third track Phylliidae, which is driven by the guitar line and ends on a slightly altered harmony which brings things to a crisp conclusion. Phylliidae are a type of leaf insect that utilise their appearance as camouflage to blend into their surroundings and the video features clips of animals doing just that, chopped in between footage of the band.
The next song Déjà take things down a bit, the tempo a little slower and the overall effect perhaps a little weaker lacking the urgency of earlier songs. My Confession is initially a more stripped back affair focused heavily on the guitar and vocal interplay, which has slightly heavier moments. It’s not a bad number but it is with the slightly more experimental sounds of last song Sync-Wave that things pick up again. Here the band manage to blend the synth-like, vaguely aquatic sounding noises of the intro into a more standard rockier chorus really well. There is an almost undulating quality running through the centre of this song which I liked.
Overall Paramnesia is a relatively strong EP that explores some convoluted ideas and isn’t afraid to play around a little bit with noises you might not expect, particularly on the last track. At times it felt that this didn’t come off fully but where it works they prove they are clearly an inventive band, who sound like they will have many potential directions to pursue on subsequent releases.
Recommended Track: Sync-Wave
Rating: 6.5/10
Website: dividedlinemusic.com
Facebook: @dividedline
Twitter: @DividedLineBand