Divine Sign began as a duo featuring the pairing of Lindsey Miller on guitar and Kerry McNulty on vocals. Through the years, they added additional members to round out a full band, but often went back to working as a duo. Even though the full band treatment found on this album helped develop the band’s sound from its folk beginnings to a more country/rock flavor, Lindsey and Kerry always remained the backbone of the group. Founded in the Asbury Park area around 2005, Divine Sign became an instant favorite of the local music scene. Lindsey and Kerry had first met several years earlier when they both worked at the Sam Ash store in Edison.
They began writing songs together and decided to form a band. It was there that they met Scott Stamper, owner of The Saint in Asbury Park. He agreed to give them a gig, but they needed to come up with a name. The first choice was ‘80s Drag Queen, but Lindsey hated it. A shirt bought with a tag saying “Divine Sign” and a picture of the zodiac led to a name they both could agree on, especially since the two of them were both into astrology.
By the time the band had released Definitely Overdue, many of the songs had been played live for years, a situation which clearly inspired its title. Nevertheless, the songs on the album seemed fresh even with years of playing behind them.
Definitely Overdue evokes memories and comparisons to artists like Neil Young, The Band, and even Fleetwood Mac, but there’s really no true comparison. Between Kerry’s sultry vocals and the beautiful harmonies of the duo, the band creates an atmosphere entirely their own. There are times when a pair of artists just seem destined to work well together and that’s the case here.
Highlights include “World Revolves,” “Cry Like I Do,” “Good Side,” and “Sweet Lady.”
From the book
Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists by Gary Wien
Gary Wien has been covering the arts since 2001 and has had work published with Jersey Arts, Elmore Magazine, Princeton Magazine, Backstreets and other publications. He is a three-time winner of the Asbury Music Award for Top Music Journalist and the author of
Beyond the Palace (the first book on the history of rock and roll in Asbury Park) and
Are You Listening? The Top 100 Albums of 2001-2010 by New Jersey Artists. In addition, he runs New Jersey Stage and the online radio station
Asbury Music. He can be contacted at
gary@newjerseystage.com.
