After three years of touring as Frank Turner’s backing band, the latest album from Dive Dive is drenched with a need to prove itself. Singer Jamie Stuart had to stay at home and watch as Frank Turner gutted his band and took them away across the world and you’d expect Potential would find Stuart reinforcing his authority over proceedings. However, maybe in an act of compromise, it’s the musicianship that’s brought to the fore. You suspect he had to win them back somehow; supporting Frank Turner in front of his devoted fans is probably one of the few properly stable jobs available in the music industry.
With Frank Turner, the band plays second fiddle to his rabble-rousing anthems. There are flashes of complete abandon but these are generally saved and dished out for when the moment calls for them. After years on the road it’s undeniable that Turner knows how to work a crowd. Dive Dive however throw everything at the wall. Opener Mr 10% is an eruption of vicious feedback, backing vocals, pneumatic time signatures and walls of guitar. The instruments don’t as much work together but try to batter each other out of the way. Every second seems to be trying urgently to validate itself by being unexpected, quirky or just loud as hell.
The entire album seems so desperate in its attempt to blow you away that it’s hard to love it on your own terms. Everything seems so staged and thought-out, you’re left gasping for a moment of truth. There’s definitely moments of melodic skill (such as the chorus of Damage Control) but anything resembling a thought out structure is ignored in favour of embracing the unexpected. It creates a listening experience that’s about as draining as a hyperactive child.
Unfortunately there would be a chance of it all holding together, if Jamie Stuart wasn’t the obvious weak link in the band. With a stronger vocalist there could be the possibility of the listener being given a real focal point to attach to. His habit of elongating vowels and attempting to belt out every syllable like it’s a distress call from the centre of a nuclear war is obviously an attempt to inject some emotional warmth into proceedings. Still, it’s just another example of histrionics being placed above quality song-writing. While it occasionally brings choruses to life, as it appears to be the only trick he has in his arsenal, it soon gets as tiring as the musical acrobatics that surrounds it.
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Hopefully after three years apart this is Dive Dive cutting loose and reaffirming their identity as a band in their own right. The reckless enthusiasm they appear to approach arrangements and songwriting with certainly hints at a band giddy at the prospect of being in the same room again. Once the initial buzz has warned off, if they approach their next effort with a bit more consideration and a more relaxed attitude there may be something worth investigating. Unfortunately their need to define themselves as more than just a backing band has led, in this instance, to a record that tries too hard to impress.
Dive Dive on Myspace
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