By Keith Walsh
Out of Philadelphia and New Jersey, Zachary Ross & The Divine have turned to creating new sounds in response to the loss of a former friend and musical partner. Their new single “A Light Over Massachusetts” finds Ross, previously of Man Overboard, eulogizing his friend, Tim Landers of Transit.
Somewhere in a random state/there’s an empty bar with an empty stage/A tired kid with too much on his plate/he’s a part of me/Somewhere in a North Shore home, stuck inside the kids’ headphones/ there’s a hole in my heart, right where your guitar should be/And I’ll be missing a part of me.
“There’s a hole in my heart, right where your guitar should be/and I’ll be missing a part of me“
“A Light Over Massachusetts,” by Zachary Ross & the Divine
The overall effect mixes the despair and anger of grief, in a tune featuring epic storytelling and dynamics. In the second verse Ross intensifies, lashing out at life for allowing the tragedy.
Somewhere out in old M8/there’s a silent speaker with nothing to play/there’s a point in my head where your f*cking voice should be/And now it’s all f*king noise to me/That’s all I’m hearing!
There’s a deeply romantic element to “A Light In Massachusetts, when Ross acknowledges that those whom we’ve lost will always be a part of us, in spirit and in our memories: Where you land, where you land, where you land, I will find you/Where I land, where I land, where I land, you will find me.
It’s a tune masterfully written and performed, and we should expect amazing things from this band, which features members from Man Overboard, The Bad Ups, And Vomit Forth.
Zachary Ross & The Divine have signed to Smartpunk Records, and will release their debut EP in August.
Zachary Ross & The Divine On Spotify
Transit On Bandcamp
Smartpunk Records
finis