Divided Heaven – Oblivion

When we last saw Jeff Berman (The Boils, Protagonist, The Rites, and The Statiks) and his solo project, Divided Heaven, it had made the jump from acoustic minimalist to a full band feature presentation.  Cold War ushered in new ambitions and techniques and reinvigorated Berman’s tried and tested formula.  During the pandemic, Divided Heaven’s activity morphed into a few independent singles leading up to the release of Berman’s most ambitious project yet, Oblivion.

The album spans four different producers (including long time producer Charlie Stavish, Tim Van Doorn, Mike Biancaniello and folk singer Frank Turner) over a recording period of four years, aiming to bring out the best in Berman from different angles.  “Monuments” opens with a more subdued tone, channeling a feel and song structure that draws inspiration from Berman’s unplugged era.  Berman paints a picture “With a future untold, a future on hold, a future stolen and sold,” following with the realization that, “we are living monuments,” describing the intersection of past and present.  It’s a very relatable starting point – kicking off Oblivion by reaching out to listeners through honesty and vulnerability.   “Burn” follows with a uniquely retro-vibe, embodied in a soaring guitar solo that screams 80’s reverb and oozes with style.

“They Poisoned our Fathers” presents a pleasant contrast, once again leveraging an acoustic sentiment in a full-band ecosystem.  Ambience and atmosphere take centre-stage as the track’s reduced tempo taps into Berman’s most emotive performances.  Such a mentality bleeds into songs like this, heard again in the simple strumming of “Baby in the Band” and the piano-centric melody of “Reckoning.”  But as “About You” makes clear, Berman’s instrumental simplicity is able to reach some towering highs.  The track spends the bulk of its time building a sense of swelling anticipation, erupting in an epic fireworks display for the final iteration of the line, “the ring is in my pocket, tell me what to do, ‘cause I still think about you.”

Overall, Oblivion is a big statement for Divided Heaven, with Berman projecting a spectrum of styles under a familiar flag.  The achievement here is once again the level of continuity tying together such a diverse spread.  That being said, listeners might get limited mileage out of certain tracks based on their own personal preference – but that wouldn’t be any fault of these well written and produced compositions.  Oblivion is passionate and easy to digest for such a complex endeavor, marking yet another milestone for Berman and Divided Heaven.