EP Review: Where They May by Divedown
Cover art for “Where They May” by divedown
Australian band, divedown delivers a five-track EP, "Where They May," marked by emotionally loaded lyrics, hazy riffs, and a melancholy alt-rock/shoegazey atmosphere.
divedown's commitment to atmospheric guitars, melancholic vocals, and sing-along tracks underlie throughout this short 5-track release. The guitars are washed out, the vocals sit in a vulnerable state, uplifting but hazy guitars flood each glossy song, creating a happy but sad juxtaposition. The biggest take here is consistency, with the sonic mood staying the same throughout, a little too safely, leaving you wanting a bit more chaos behind the release. Over-polished music creates some hits and bangers, but leaves out the signature vocal cracks, blown-out guitars, and structural differences, creating a memorable song that sticks with people for years, just after a couple of listens.
Bad Way is where the band sounds the most confident instrumentally. The entire EP should have leaned into what Bad Way delivered, with a deeper, emotional, heavy-hitting sound. The guitars are harder, the drums feel more alive, and the band sounds less concerned with sounding “pretty” and more concerned with actually landing an emotional punch.
Then you’ve got, Towards The Light, which closes the project with an appropriately cinematic response. Big emotional climax that has blistered the alt-rock scene with so many modern ballads, layered guitars, reflective lyrics, leaving you with that "Staring out a window and watching the world go by” feeling.
While divedown has its clearest intentions for delivering those emotional rollercoaster songs that transport you with its dreamy guitar tones to suck you into its lyrics, the rollercoaster feels the equivalent of a slide in a playground with very momentary highlights, and a consistent repetition of the modern alt-rock format. For a new band, they have been sitting very comfortably in their sound, like so many other bands.
The main issue with this release is caused by its handcuffed nature to its predecessors, trapped within their influences but lacking what made them special. The grit and raw energy put into tracks for other bands, such as Modern Color have little to no shine or gloss and own their flaws sonically. Lyrically, divedown have moments where the emotional themes glaze over each other and stay on the surface, heartbreak and burnout are mentioned all throughout this release. Nothing here feels algorithmical or assembled, it just sounds like divedown is trying to process something in real time without cutting deeper.
Overall “Where They May” feels like a promising start to turn some heads towards divedown as a band. The fundamentals are there to fulfill this bands’ potential in the alternative rock space when they break away from their inspirations and come to terms with what divedown is as a sound. Curiosity is the main takeaway from “Where They May” to hear what will change in their next project, hopefully with a few more risks.
FFO : Roving, Can’t Swim, Balance and Composure
SCORE: 5/10
“Where They May” is available on all streaming platforms on Friday 29th May 2026 via Ninth Life Records.
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