Brandon Voyeur’s Modern Divinity challenges your comfort zone.
LISTEN:
Theatricality and rock music are like peanut butter and bananas: they’re just meant to go together. Mixing art with rock to explore complex concepts can bring about huge benefits to your finished product. Montreal transplant (and Halifax native) Brandon Voyeur knows all about embracing the dramatic; his newest EP, Modern Divinity, is part Velvet Underground, part Off-Broadway monologue and is sure to demand repeated listens.
The scene opens with “Chariot/Tower”, a droning, churning mix of guitar and cymbals over which Voyeur delivers a spoken-word monologue riffing on themes of questioning one’s faith and existentialism. It’s subject matter that pervades Modern Divinity, providing the pulpit from which Voyeur’s character vents his brooding, silent rage.
Proceedings immediately shift on the title track as bassist Nich Patzelt propels the song forward with a powerful bassline. A huge boost comes from Liam Ring’s saxophone. His contributions add a simultaneously smooth and manic edge to the post-punk and art-rock influences all over Modern Divinity. Guitar, sax, drums–this unit is right in the pocket. Speaking of being in the pocket, drummer Nick Smith brings a calm yet driving groove on tracks like “Blessed Are The Ones” and “Save Our Souls”. He stands out while not overshadowing Voyeur’s presence.
Modern Divinity challenges your comfort zone. Fans of the avant-garde will find much to pore over; for the uninitiated, Voyeur is not so avant as to be considered obtuse. He does leave a lasting impression on you, though. It’s a long, hard look into one man’s psyche and perhaps a sign of things to come from Voyeur.
This modern divinity intrigues me.
