Co-op Pop
2001
Where Have My Countrymen Gone
About This Album
After an unbelievably ill-conceived pairing with the metalheaded Roadrunner label for their 1998 debut EP and their stunning 1999 full-length debut, Boston's premier indie-mopesters the Sheila Divine released Where Have My Countrymen Gone through the Co-Op Pop imprint. As with 1999's New Parade, the thing that makes the Sheila Divine so spectacular is their penchant for creating melodies that soar with singular guitar work that is at once beautiful and brutal, especially when paired with Aaron Perrino's staggeringly rich vocals. Perrino draws heavily from Morrissey, to be sure, but never comes across sounding like a mere imitation; it's much more like he is possessed by the same overpowering and melancholy muse. The key word in describing the Sheila Divine is intensity. Countrymen forgoes some of the more straightforward alt-rockisms of New Parade in order to delve more freely into the group's more arty, experimental side hinted at on previous numbers like "Spacemilk." Moody atmospherics play a big role in songs like the Radiohead-meets-Tindersticks "Wanting Is Wasted" and "Some Kind of Home," but ultimately it is numbers like "Sideways" and "Ostrichs" that build steam until they explode into huge choruses that prove to be the best and most memorable of the lot.
Track List (try tracks 1,2 and 5)

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