Contrary to its name, The Great Divide — which is the seventh album by the Matthew Shadley Band — is less about separation and more about finding unity in disparate states of being; such as movement and stillness, and life and death.
Matthew Shadley Brauer, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in the Outer Banks, founded the alt-rock band in Cincinnati in 2003, but stepped away from the Midwest music scene five years later. The project was revived during the pandemic, when Brauer started recording music again in lockdown, finding his passion once again.
“Musically, I set out to create an album inspired by the classic guitar tones captured in the latter half of the ‘British Invasion’,” Brauer says of The Great Divide. “Lyrically, the songs grew out of a brush with death and the recurring questions that still remain with me.”
The album’s narrative arc follows a traveler on the road.
It starts with the explosive “Ball That Jack,” which proclaims the journey more important than the destination, and draws inspiration from roadtrip icons like Jack Kerouac. “Trouble will not find me there/Angels guide me everywhere,” Brauer sings of the open highway. “And every turn I know/For the same strange karma tells me so.”
In the more introspective and psychedelic “Left This World Today,” influenced by the 1974 album Bridge of Sighs and Brauer’s near-death experience, the traveler’s faith in the road is shaken, and there’s a sense of loss and confusion. “Angels told me gently/‘Turn back toward the light’,” Brauer sings, momentarily spared but permanently changed. “I dreamed I climbed that mountain/And almost slipped away.”
Another notable track is the funky “Sooner Than Later,” which veers away from mortality and turns its focus back to earthly desires. Guitar riffs crackle and energetic organ pulses as Brauer sings of a lover playing hard to get. “You sweet-talk, baby, then you disappear/And every time, you come a little more near/You say you’re fine on your own tonight/Your pulse don’t lie, and your grip ain’t light,” he sings.
After “Archipelagos,” an instrumental number that sets the tone for the album’s ending, The Great Divide wraps up with the transcendental “Like Stardust.” The traveler reflects on his journey with newfound peace. “Nothing here means anything/Drifting like stardust/Through spiral dreams at night.” The song ends with tinkling bells, fading into silence. Brauer describes the resolution as, “Identity dissolves into the cosmos… It’s not about nihilism, it’s about freedom. This is what awaits us at the end of the road.”
With notable hooks, relatable lyrics, and palpable modern alt-rock energy, the Matthew Shadley Band continues to impress album after album. Shadley has a penchant for feel and groove, and The Great Divide is yet another feather in his songwriting cap.
