The Divorce - The Gifted Program

Genre rock Publisher Made in Mexico Records External Links Official Website Made in Mexico Records

Second record, one more bandmate. The quartet headed up by songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Shane Berry belches forth an impressive second album with The Gifted Program; this piece is an absolutely no-frills, well written, catchy-tune riddled hunk of discernable art. They've got their sound really together, and though it combines a resonance of classic, obvious influences from Cheap Trick to The Stand, they come through with their own very distinct personality, much like Green Day's familiar, yet disparate flag stuck in the terra of late 90's punk revival.

New member Garrett Lunceford's guitar is good and clean and he shreds it up a bit (check "Air Traffic Control"), but is not spectacular, offering nothing incredibly innovative. Though the lyrics themselves aren't terribly clever, the message derived from them occasionally possesses a very biting honesty and admirably addresses ugly topics with a bull-by-the-horns candor. The third cut "Birds = Magic" lays it right out with "...so you know/so we're clear/we're not friends/I'm using you to get where I'm going...", and later, "pray if you wanna/there's no way out/because your maker ain't taking/responsibility for you." The Knack comes out in marble veins on "Fishing with the Party Sharks," a sardonic sneer at hipster social scene, unjustifiable ego, and the unwarranted, silly arrogance over a paper mache machine. Kudos and pride for nothing. I like political statements in my rock and roll, and I like the allusions made to Bush being a seriously deceptive fucktard in "Air Traffic Control;" "He turned my spit right into wine/that was all before we caught him lying...beware the ones who say they know the way/beware when they're the ones who fly the planes." Then even better in "Deny!Deny!Deny!" "if we drop the bomb sideways/won't have to see where it lands/to keep ourselves out of trouble/we'd have to cut off our hands...but we can't spare any knives." But then, I look for references of Bush being a seriously deceptive fucktard everywhere, like on cereal boxes or in cheap wood paneling, and gosh darn it I find them every time. However, not all the statements are as profound or thought provoking as intended. The mystery ailment theme of hoakily crooned "Doctors and Friends" is close to trite, calling to mind Natalie Merchant's "Wonder"; essentially boiling down to a spare part, a piece never meant to be, a wicked little twin in need of examination, prodding, and eventual liberation from it's suffering host. In other words, analyze and get rid of your externally influenced negativity and please don't be an asshole. Super.

It's start and it's end are the absolute best. Yeah, it's a good rock album, The Gifted Program is, flaunting solid confidence in their composition. With ballsy presentation, it's a big rock, punk revival, new wave melange of bold statement squeezed through a mold of mediocre metaphor. And Bush is still a fucktard.