The Divine Crime are part of a positive new trend in modern reggae and R&B, real instruments laying down the groove and playing melody lines instead of dance tracks and synthesized music. With any luck, The Divine Crime might push off this new revolution all by themselves.
The reggae grooves on the band’s debut CD Obliquity are unbelievably knobby and pulsating. Amee Jana Divine’s silky smooth vocal has matured, seasoned, and strengthened since her early days in the Boston band Hazy Maze, dating back to the beginning of the last decade. She has an underlying power that she uses to control the direction of the band and their songs.
The Divine Crime do not try to get by on flash. They don‘t try to hit the listener over the head with anything explosive. They build their songs up structurally. “Hear Me Call” starts it off with a sophisticated restraint, allowing the band to build more complex rhythms throughout the song, as compared to what a lot of other funk bands in the clubs do. “Love Gets Stronger” has a sweet percussion blended with funky synths. “Flower In Bloom” features sweet guitar riffs that dart playfully around Jana’s svelte sultry voice. “Raining Cold” also plays a lot of melody over a mellow, danceable groove, and the contrast between raining melodies and a lake of low rumble gives this song extra dimension and heft.
This LA funky, reggae, R&B outfit have the tools to sculpt a soundscape with unique feel. “Livin’ It,” a joyous ode to life with its catchy rhythm track, charming keyboard riff, and a very involving guitar, builds almost as if an architect was directing the band. A burst of notes, piercing melodic phrase, and a climactic bridge lead to catharsis before the band swiftly bring it back to their original pace. Dynamics is just one of their trusty tools. It’s simply their way of keeping the people on the dance floor, keeping the listeners with them.
Jana Divine, with her rangy voice, can really send her voice out and over the soundscape. She has honed her vocal strength into a pristine musical instrument. “Tidy Up” is one area where she can show this off. The breezy beat is covered with power chords and a sharp guitar phrase and yet Jana manages to still find her way to the top of it all.
“Holla At Ur Girl” has a brisk rapid percussion that moves this song tightly in place like a subway train. Smooth keyboard effects build eloquently over the beat and give Jana another grand opportunity to show off her svelte voice and sophisticated technique. She sings through a voice echo chamber and that makes more interesting some bulbous drum effects underneath her.
This CD also features three dub versions of their songs “Raining Cold(featuring Nadirah X)” “Hear Me Call,” and “Tidy Up.” All three are very danceable and are likely to turn up in any of the dance clubs Divine Crime chooses to sent them to. The dubs are basically adding more music and music is this band’s specialty. Every member of this nine-piece is cool. Ben_Jamin Hamlin might be the funkiest low end player in LA. Ezra Brooks Robison drums his way over, around, and through the beat while laying it down smooth and steady. Keyboardist Cynthya Love Divine is the indisputable creative force behind much of the sound, and guitarist Josh Cardinali is almost always the icing on the cake. His lead guitar phrases are precise and they dance wildly around these palpable funk beats.
Additional members are Lux Divine, a backing vocalist who helps Amee Jana Divine ride out those highs, lows, and sustained sensations. The same can be said of backing vocalist Michelle Divine, another fine addition to this mix of lush, textured, gorgeous, and sultry vocals. Together, these ladies can make it sway, swing, and create their own wall of sound.
Lenny Dread adds to the electricity in the dual guitar attacks, and, General Lee peppers the beat with additional artistic flourishes.
The Divine Crime should make a big splash in LA this year, gathering a buzz with this well-crafted funktified work of art..
