The Mystery Divide is searching for the truth on his sprawling new indie rock album, ‘Questions I’.
Spanning 12 tracks, the years-in-the-making project — one of two set for release this year — sees the musician unravel the mysteries of life, from love in both its pure and dark forms to the quest for meaning and direction.
‘Questions I’ opens with the fading intro of ‘Infinity’, an atmospheric rock cut that immediately recalls the likes of Rob Thomas and hits you squarely in the feels.
Shimmering cymbals and spacious instrumentation carry the album opener, as punctuated by driving drum rolls and a melancholic feel that establishes the soul-searching that’s yet to come.
Twangy guitar riffs seem pulled straight from The Mystery Divide’s own psyche, and his ability to bring emotions to the sonic realm continues on ‘Paths (We Choose)’.
This more upbeat entry is an immediate standout, coasting on folk-like rhythms and shimmering guitar melodies.
There’s an acoustic feel that underpins the track, while the lyrics speak to the album’s broader message about deciding on the trajectory of your life.
“I got lost along the way,” The Mystery Divide croons on a catchy hook that’s destined for earworm status.
It’s this combination of introspective lyrics and equally reflective production that remains a throughline across the entire tracklist.
On ‘Sound of Silence’, The Mystery Divide pairs warm, sunlit licks with propulsive percussion and a tender reflection on finding one’s home, while ‘Innocence’ delivers a slow-going, ambient rock cut with whirring synths and a story about finding that ever-elusive paradise.
Later, on yet another standout ‘Riding Mischief’, The Mystery Divide veers into stadium-filling rock with anthemic instrumentation that erupts on a cathartic chorus, before ‘Wars’ offers the album’s noisiest effort complete with thunderous drums and a gritty baseline.
What’s so compelling about the music is the juxtaposition of The Mystery Divide’s heavier rock tendencies with more euphonic moments, as ‘Wars’ features angelic vocal stacks and a guitar melody that you’ll be humming along to for days.
The power that this kind of songcraft holds is bolstered by The Mystery Divide’s lyricism, which steals the spotlight on tracks like ‘Desolate Cowboy’.
It serves in many ways as the album’s thesis, a spaghetti western-flecked track chronicling the vagabondish yearning for the great beyond and the new horizons it represents.
Elsewhere, on pure indie rock odyssey ‘Paramour’, The Mystery Divide muses on waiting around for a lover whose “everything I want”, while ‘Matrix in Time’ dissects the illusions and confusion of life and the promise of someone else being on the other side of it all.
The Mystery Divide’s efforts culminate on ‘Land of the Purple Sun’, a groovy bassline-driven closer dotted by acoustic strums and the discovery of a promised land where “I see it’s all okay.”
It’s a worthy final chapter in the journey The Mystery Divide guides us through on ‘Questions I’, an album that digs deep into heady themes while showcasing an ear for rock music’s softer side.
Listen to The Mystery Divide’s latest album ‘Questions I’ below.
