From opening track “I Can Hear the Sound” (all ebullient piano and driving drums) to closing track “High Above” (a cascade of tubular bells and marching strings), The Great Divide pulls for your attention. Finely crafted and pieced together by Newnan, Georgia’s Stella StageCoach, Divide is a wonder of cellos, violas, saxophones, vocals, drums and guitars. It’s a sun kissed album of your favorite musical memory, whether it be decades old or from mere days ago.
Divide maintains a folky veneer even as it experiments with various styles. “We Have The Light” paces into a lively rumba while Matthew Morgan and Victoria Cockrum jaunt through a genteel duet. The title track lilts along with a happy ukulele, while the stellar “Paper Crown” waltzes by before being swept up in a myriad of strings. It would be easy to scold Stella Stage Coach for its scattered display of musical modes if it wasn’t so subtle and confident at every turn.
Are there some issues? Sure. “He Won’’ Stop” would easily be the best song if it weren’t so long, while “The Night the Angels Cried” lumbers in repetition midway through the album, slowing down Divide’s powerful momentum.
But that’s no real reason to fuss. The album’s best song, the riotous “What Have I Done,” gives rise to a simple answer. What have they done? They’ve created a lasting piece of elegance. Newnan should be proud.
