Divide By Zero - Answer to No One

Divide By Zero
Answer To No One
Jump Start Records
Grade: A-

With a longer than expected time between the release of Chicago’s Divide By Zero awesome EP Timber and this debut full-length and a mailing mishap, I was unpleasantly surprised that I wasn’t knocked on my ass by the opener “Grave.” Yet, the simple straight ahead, melodic punk that characterizes the first number “Grave” – though it has a great line of “And your words roll off your tongue/like a bullet from a gun” – soon gave way for the what is one of the best melodic punk bands since Hot Water Music. The four-piece formed in 2002 after the breakdown of Logan’s Loss and slowly set out to define their own sound, in a smart contrast to the punk movement of the time. Besides from this record and Timber, the band also released a five-song EP Mirrors on Chicago’s Sinister Label. For me, as mentioned, what sets Divide By Zero apart from like-minded bands is the fabulous use of intricate and progressive sections that marry intertwining and battling guitars, a modified walking bass and soaring vocals. As such, Divide By Zero echoes the groundbreaking HWM releases like Finding the Rhythms and Forever and Counting. If you are furious as I that HWM doesn’t rip out number like “Minno” anymore than Divide By Zero is the answer to your disease. This is no better illustrated than by the breathtaking seven-minute “Bleeds and Bleeds,” where the band cruises through a near-infinite number of sections that meld and weave seamlessly together. Other choice cuts from this eleven-song, fifty minute record include “Timber” (from the EP), the straight-up punk number “Scars,” “Hold On,” “Northern Lights” and “The Year that Trembled.” Surely, I’m enthralled by the longer, multi-segmented numbers, but it is something that can’t be denied to like-minded individuals. Divide By Zero are not the type of band that is going to immediately capture your imagination and shake you unconscious, but by the second listen you are beginning to become an addict. I provide this review now, but Answer To No One seems like the type of record that is going to take several months for periodic listening to fully ingest – and if time allows an updated review may follow. Though I don’t know the entire scoop and whether inquires/offers have been made, it is baffling that Divide By Zero hasn’t been captured by some heavyweight labels – like hometown Victory. Regardless, look for Chicago finest to rip through your town and blow off your roof.