by The Sheila Divine
1999, Roadrunner Records

the sound: Singer Aaron Perrino’s voice has a Morrisey-esque timbre and his band’s songs are reminiscent of “The Bends”-era Radiohead, with strong and similar lyrics. On a smaller scale, The Sheila Divine pulls together tight, guitar-driven songs about life and love. The album’s opening track, “Automatic Buffalo,” is a solid rock song that ends with a rousting chorus of “automatic buffalo.” (Don’t ask, we don’t know what that means.) “I’m a Believer” beats The Monkees’ song of the same title, starting slowly and building to a screechy cry for love: “To my surprise / I’m hypnotized / by the sight of flesh / and the scent of skin. / Give me a chance.” The album’s best track, “Opportune Moment,” predates and outshines any Killers “losing the girl” song: “I call her (ring, ring), she’s not there. / At the opportune moment / she tells me (fling, fling), ‘I kissed him.’ / Now it’s out into the open. / I go out (drinks, drinks), I can’t stay in.” Rocking, jangly fun all around.

the background: In 1997, The Sheila Divine began as many Boston bands do, playing downstairs at The Middle East, pushing a five-song EP at Newbury Comics (later re-recorded and lengthened to become “New Parade”)  and getting coverage on WFNX and WBCN. By the time “New Parade” rolled around, the band had a loyal following, helping the album’s first single, “Hum,” become a nation-wide college radio hit. The Sheila Divine is not necessarily for the happy set, which isn’t always a bad thing. Plenty of bands have made it big on the sad sack image. The group’s name does mean “sacred wimp,” after all, a sentiment perhaps best embodied in the album’s tiny, twinkly last song, “Sweep the Leg,” a reference to one of the 1980s favorite lovesick losers, The Karate Kid.

the significance: The Sheila Divine paved the way for bands like The Killers. While the songs are thick with sound, they are self-depreciative and wonderful, full of sarcasm and snarky observations about implants and The Spice Girls. But the band was perhaps a bit too early for its time, or possibly immediately dated.  While “New Parade” and The Sheila Divine achieved modest success, the band’s second album did not fare as well, and the group broke up in 2003. Singer Perrino went on to form Dear Leader, which, thankfully, sounds an awful lot like The Sheila Divine.