The Sarandons are the fully collaborative endeavor of Toronto music stalwarts Dave Suchon (vocals/guitar), Damian Coleman (bass/vocals), Edmund Cummings (keys/vocals), Craig Keeney (lead guitar) and Phil Skot (drums), who have been creating together in different projects for over a decade and a half.
Produced by Dan Hosh (Wild Rivers, City and Colour, Glorious Sons), “The Great Divide” is unique in The Sarandons’ song catalogue as it’s one of their darkest and heaviest to date. It’s also one of the most stripped down songs the band has ever recorded with the five members playing, with very little if any double tracking and not much instrumental overdub. By pulling things out of the mix and having verses, for example, just as bass, drums and vocal, it makes the song feel big and explosive.
The visuals for “The Great Divide” take lyric videos to the next level. The Sarandons reunited with Barto Bak who had done their video for previously released single, “Stand Down,” a stop animation cartoon romp in the style of the Monty Python’s Flying Circus intro. For “The Great Divide,” Barto built on the cut up squares motif from Trace Loops and created a grainy strange black and white talking head video.
