There’s some noise kicking up in Chicago. A squawk and squall of a rock band that goes by the name of Names Divine. Imagine the heavy vision of Jefferson Airplane delivered with K Records minimalism. In ten tracks the eleven-piece ensemble grind out a post-Fluxus bloody blooze bath on their new album Something Vague and Maybe Rotting.
Harmonica, violin, theremin, flute, trumpet, choral harmonies, the usual rock bread ‘n’ butter, the kitchen sink. It’s all there, plus a little spoken word on "Travel the Road a Piece". Names Divine flexes some sonic textural width while being light years away from flaccid big-bandisms. The band uses the extra hands on deck to build out the drama, but can pull back when needed, as in the simple, straightforward gem "Goodbye Sadness." The three-minute song squeezes a lot of soul out of a short story – "Goodbye sadness, I don’t need you anymore" – and gives the standout female songstress the opportunity to let her voice run wild.
And what a voice. Grace Slick meets L7 meets Patti Smith. Imagine farm animals tossed into the spinning turbines of a Boeing 747. Intense stuff; gritty stuff that sometimes sounds off-kilter, but it’s off-kilter in just the right way. Names Divine lays down that kind of vocal soul all over Something Vague and Maybe Rotting. Check out "The Golden Phallus, His Holy Waifs, and the Coming of the Eucharist" for a slow, hungover jam that sounds like its perpetually in a state of half-sleep. A narcotic daydream sung with sweet woozy affection.
Other standouts include "Satisfied Mind" and "Bear Costume". In the most perfect of worlds, we could have probably lived without the spoken word prelude. But Names Divine is one of those acts where you’ll deal a spoonful of self-indulgence for a half pound of raw psych rock flavor. That’s a pretty good trade just about anywhere, and QRO will take it.
MP3 Stream: "The Golden Phallus His Holy Waifs and the Coming of the Eucharist"
