When we spoke to Broken Social Scene’s Kevin Drew last year, it was during the singer’s promotional push for his sophomore solo album, Oh My Darlings—a beautiful record which we described as “Drew singing the pages of his journal over discrete orchestral moments and thoughtful synth swells.”
Throughout the recording of Darlings, and for many years prior, Drew has maintained a close friendship with veteran songwriter Andy Kim, responsible for such hits as “Sugar, Sugar,” “Rock Me Gently” and “Shoot ‘Em Up Baby.” The friendship culminated in the two releasing an album together, titled It’s Decided, on Arts & Crafts in February this year.
Recorded in parallel with Darlings, It’s Divisive features an eclectix mix of contributors, including Dave Hamelin of Montreal rockers the Stills, John McEntire of Chicago post-rock titans Tortoise and Ohad Benchetrit of Toronto avant-psych ensemble Do Make Say Think.
It also includes an unreleased Broke Social Scene song, “Who Came First.”
What started as a project borne out of camaraderie and mutual respect morphed into a triumphant labor of love, an intimate, expansive record that celebrates Kim’s powerful tenor and Drew’s pop adventurousness. It is not for everyone, but a treasure for those who appreciate it. It’s a record of friendship, first and foremost, a musical collaboration second.
It is also, in the eyes of many, the return of Andy Kim. And while It’s Divisive is primarily an Andy Kim record, it is the union of the two musicians that gives it life.
Last week, Kim and Drew joined an all-star lineup including Courtney Love, Nick Cave, Devendra Banhart, Beth Orton, Tim Robbins, Peaches, Lucinda Williams, Will Forte and more at Los Angeles’ ACE hotel for a star-studded tribute to Allen Ginsberg’s Howl to benefit the David Lynch Foundation.
The musical tribute that brought together a disparate set of musical titans resulted, despite the high bar set by the lineup, in a relaxed night akin to a reunion between a bunch of old friends catching up and having a few laughs together.
The videos form the night are sparse, sadly—we are including Kim’s performance of “Sugar, Sugar” during which he was joined on stage by Courtney Love and Eric Mingus—below, but they capture, albeit through limited, suboptimally-recorded soundbites, memorable snippets from the evening.
From a recent appearance on Letterman to an upcoming Summer tour, the “Odd Couple” (as Letterman called them) is determined to bring It’s Divisive to new audiences who may still be lukewarm to the pairing.
Drew told us, “I’m not the flavour of the flaves but for those who’ve stuck around and stayed with me, I still believe I’m making music that they want me to make and making the music that I want to make”—words that ring truer today than they ever have.
Watch a live performance of “Sister OK” for New York’s WFUV station by Kevin Drew and Andy Kim below.