Chant- That Which Divides

Chant -That Which Divides

chantproject.com

Chant is electro form the unlikely place of the Lone Star State. “That Which Divides” has a certain Texas swagger, but ultimately, too many tracks end up seeming like pretty familiar ground. The album covers pretty wide ground, it’s pretty eclectic: everything from spacey, ethereal industrial, to some pretty straight forward industrial rock, in a Ministry vein. 
The opening track, “Point and Click” has some interesting percussive moments, but it’s not quite enough to carry the song. The vocals add a particular pop sensibility, however, it ends up being one of the stronger songs on the album. The samples are well used, and the drumming makes this a strong track. “Crash Me” comes into some pretty familiar Glam territory, it’s a fun song, but a little dated. There’s a great, guitar drenched midsection in the song, but in the end, the song goes a little longer than it should. “Inspiration Spawned By a Corporate Takeover” sounds like a “Mind Is A Terrible Thing to Taste” era Ministry song.  That’s laudable in a way, but it’s too much of a retread to get too many accolades. “Waking Up” is an ethereal instrumental track, which is surprising. (actually, there’s two tracks “Wake Up,” the second, has lyrics.) “Waking Up” has some really interesting moments, but sounds almost
 new-agey, in a way. Its sister song, “Wake Up” it a strong point on the album, it blends the ethereal sound of “Waking Up” with some of the stronger songs of the album.
This band made a name for itself, and was picked up because of its live shows, so maybe I’m missing something by listening to the album rather than seeing the band live. Some of the tracks warrant a second look “Reaching for Something New” has cool drumming in it, what Bradley Bills’ Chant calls tribal drumming. But the song counts for less than 2 minutes of the albums running length. It’s worth a listen though.  
There’s elements of this album that I really like, but as a whole, it’s a cohesive album, but not necessarily a satisfying one. It has some really good moments, and a lot of bland ones as well. This might be a band to watch, but this particular album isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel.