Maybe they should have stayed together: Ashes Divide review

Looking for that "next big thang," I hazarded a purchase this week of the debut album by Ashes Divide entitled Keep Telling Myself it's Alright.

When I saw the album sitting there on the shelf -given the picture and band name- I chuckled a bit thinking I was staring at the latest flavor of the week emo-goth-boy-band.

Turns out I was wrong. Well, mostly. It's still pretty emo and gothic, but the good kind.

What made me take the plunge was a little silver sticker on the cover of the album proclaiming it the product of Billy Howerdel, one of the guys responsible for A Perfect Circle. Turns out "from Billy Howerdel" was almost completely literal. The dude plays damn near every instrument on the album as well as taking on the vocals.

The lyrics are deep enough to sink your teeth into and mostly thoughtful and convincing. I believe Howerdel genuinely had some complex stuff to work through here. The rest, however, offered little in the line of originality. The vast majority of the album sounds like one long track, but even then I wasn't completely turned off.
Keep Telling Myself it's Alright isn't a great album, nor is it terrible. It just IS. The pedigree is there, but the first attempt was nowhere near a homerun.

For those looking for something melodic, calm and occasionally engaging to listen to, give Ashes Divide a spin and see what you think. As background music, it excels. As a unique piece of work worthy of your full attention; not so much.