A Light Divided is going all in with their new album, “Choose Your Own Adventure.” The disc was released in October and the band just finished an extensive, regional U.S. tour. The group is hoping “Choose Your Own Adventure” will be their breakthrough album, and there’s certainly reason to be optimistic.
The set is the perfect mix of rock and metal with pop overtones and catchiness. A Light Divided’s energetic music is matched by their lyrics about making the most of life, perseverance and work ethic, as evidenced on tracks such as “Make Your Luck,” new single “Fear of Heights” and “Life Lessons.”
Singer Jaycee Clark is a dynamic vocalist who also brings Jersey grit to the band: she hails from Howell. We recently spoke to Jaycee Clark.
Tell us a bit about the history of A Light Divided
We started in 2007. It took a couple of years to find our legs and our sound. All of us agreed that we shouldn’t put a label on our music or put ourselves in a box as to what music we could create. We all have such different creative influences, from punk and metal to pop music. We wanted to showcase all of our influences in a unique sound and I think that with this latest album we really pushed that.
How would you say the band pushed the envelope musically on “Choose Your Own Adventure”?
I think we’ve grown a lot in the sense that we’ve been doing this a really long time. The idea was to get rid of everything we know and write songs that make us happy and listen to one another. It’s our most collaborative effort. We have heavier instrumentation than in the past but with pop vocals and pop-synth production over top of it. Then we have other songs like “Scars of You” and “Armor & Warpaint” that are almost total pop ballads.
What are some of the challenges that the band has faced over the past decade?
It’s really hard to be an independent band, especially when you’re looking at things like trying to tour full-time. There’s no financial security and it’s really hard to do that. I’ve also found there are pros and cons with me being a woman in music. Some people are interested in our music before we play a note because they’re fans of female singers. Then there are some of the more negative things like people judging your look as opposed to the music you’re creating first and foremost.
Your new video/single, “Fear of Heights,” gives a taste of the band’s energetic live show.
It was really important to showcase our performance aspect. That’s one of our stronger points. We’re super high energy onstage and upbeat and get people moving. Photographers say they hate us because they can’t get a good photo of us because we never stand still.
What’s behind your band name?
A Light Divided came from just throwing words together we thought were cool. It’s a total play on the Eighties book series. It didn’t really mean anything at first but as the years went on it came to be what we stand for, our work ethic, our perseverance, our heart.
The band seems poised for a breakthrough. Are you going to do more touring than you have in the past?
That’s something we as a band are currently going through. Prior to this record we’ve done 10-day runs here and there, just long enough so we can get back to our jobs without raising any eyebrows. But with this album, we were like, we can continue doing these 10-day runs or just go and do what we want. We have huge tour plans for 2019. Instead of being scared of losing our jobs we’re going to take the chance and do it because it’s what we love.
I think that other people can relate to that whether it’s going to school or whatever. If there’s something you want go all in. It’s scary but ultimately we think it’s worth it. It’s like the song “Make Your Luck.” Any decision you come across has its own unique outcome. Pick the decision that you want to get to the outcome you want.
