Taken off their forthcoming fourth album, Divine Sweater’s gentle, aching dream-pop reverie “Counterparts” is a tender ode to those who make the journey worthwhile: An homage to love, trust, and growing and dreaming together.
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Stream: “Counterparts” – Divine Sweater
Embarking on a music career can feel a lot like buying a lottery ticket or playing one of those casino slot machines.
It’s a gamble – and a long shot, at that. The odds of “winning big” are never in your favor, there are thousands of others all vying for the same thing, and even if you do everything right, you could still wind up with a set of losing numbers.
Of course, no one goes into music just for the sake of “winning.” We’re all pulled into this world – into this unforgiving industry – through deeper passions; a creative love for songwriting and music making, a zeal for performance and spiritual connection through song.
Still, a win would be nice; as many an independent artist knows, it’s tough out there.
Even so, they soldier on. Divine Sweater’s heartfelt new single speaks not only to the trials and tribulations of modern day music careers, but also to those around us, who help to make it all worthwhile – even when it feels like we’re stuck, running in place. A gentle, aching dream-pop reverie, “Counterparts” is in many ways an ode to the journey, and sharing all those inevitable highs and lows with someone special. It’s a song of love, trust, and growing together; a tender homage to those who make life’s sour moments sweeter.
After all, if you’re having the time of your life, aren’t you already succeeding? Ultimately, what really counts for “success” and whatnot is all just a matter of perspective.
Still, this band could very well make the big time.
We keep waiting on a train that’s never coming
We might die waiting for it, waiting for
We keep waiting on a train that’s never coming
We just might die waiting for it, waiting for it
Oh, hiding in the dark
Corner of your heart
Undercover counterpart
Released July 9, 2024, “Counterparts” is the second single taken off Divine Sweater’s forthcoming fourth studio album, A Time for Everything (out September 13 via Better Company Records). The Boston/New York City-based band fronted by Meghan Kelleher (vocals) together with Sean Seaver (guitar and vocals), Chris Southiere (drums), Alex Goldberg (bass), and Stephen Lin (keys), Divine Sweater have been knitting yarns of indie rock and indie pop for six long years now, earning a dedicated audience with their dynamic and dreamy sound, their contemplative lyrics, and their catchy, radiant (and often beachy) melodies.
A Time for Everything sees Divine Sweater continuing to dig deep, hone their chops, and expand their musical world, working with San Fermin founder Allen Tate as producer for what promises to be a “deceivingly upbeat and breathtaking collection of shimmering indie pop.” They describe the new album as a record of endings and beginnings, meditating on one’s ability to deal with mortality, loss, and grief, and having the strength to reset and come out stronger on the other end.
Following this May’s propulsive lead single “Deep Side,” “Counterparts” is a lush and lilting enchantment sprinkled with sultry horns and warm, endearing harmonies.
And – importantly for the band – it’s a raw, honest recognition of just how hard this music thing really is. Six years and three-plus albums in, they’re still hustling just as hard, if not harder, than ever.
We keep slipping off to secret hideaways
Where we go, never know, never say
We keep slipping off to secret hideaways
Where we go, we’ll never know, never say
Don’t know what you want then
Go make up your mind and
Meet me outside in ten
As Divine Sweater’s frontperson/vocalist Meghan Kelleher reveals below, she probably couldn’t do it without the love, support, and camaraderie of her bandmates – in particular her partner, Sean Seaver. The pair recently relocated from their longtime home of Boston, where Divine Sweater had grown a sizable, local fan base, to New York City.
“It’s easy to feel like your own music career is completely out of your control, like you’re stuck waiting at the station for a train that derailed miles up the track,” Kelleher tells Atwood Magazine. “Most musicians would wait their entire lives – through every storm and season – for that train to arrive. To leave one place behind and emerge somewhere new. To finally “make it” despite all impossible odds.”
“For Divine Sweater, the only thing that makes the wait bearable is having someone to wait with,” she explains. “A dreamy ode to musical companionship, ‘Counterparts’ is about finding your creative partner, clinging to a shared dream, and trusting that your train will arrive eventually. This song is about being in a band with my partner and having this shared dream that feels impossible to accomplish. Wanting to be a “successful” band feels like waiting for a train that is never coming. This song is about having this sort of “double-life” as a couple and as bandmates.”
Oh, hiding in the dark
(We keep waiting on a train that’s never coming)
Corner of your heart
(We might die waiting for it, waiting for)
Undercover counterpart
(We keep waiting on a train that’s never coming
We just might just might just might just)
If you “just might die waiting for it,” you might as well make the interminable wait worthwhile.
How better than to spend it with someone who brings love and light to your days and nights? Kelleher is lucky to have a partner in Seaver – in more ways than one – and “Counterparts” feels like a recognition of this special bond the two get to share, navigating the highs and lows of their creative professional pursuits both on and off the stage. No wonder this song feels especially dreamy, and particularly special. “Win” or “lose,” Kelleher has someone to love; someone who gets her; someone spend the whole damn journey with.
Even if Divine Sweater never pop off – which, again, this writer believes they will – Kelleher’s lows will be forever softened, because she’s not alone in that experience. The power of human connection can never be understated, and in “Counterparts,” the magic of two comes to bear in a song full of appreciation, recognition, and immeasurable understanding.
Get lost in the stirring folds of “Counterparts,” and stay tuned for Divine Sweater’s upcoming fourth album A Time for Everything, out September 13!
Oh, hiding in the dark
(We keep slipping off to secret hideaways)
Corner of your heart
(Where we go, never know, never say)
Undercover counterpart
(We keep slipping off to secret hideaways
We just might just might just might just)
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Stream: “Counterparts” – Divine Sweater
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© Megan Magray
© Megan Magray
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