Divorce have built a reputation for crafting songs that balance emotional weight with sonic richness, and their latest single Hangman is no exception. It’s taken from their debut album Drive to Goldenhammer out March 7th 2025 via Gravity / Capitol. From the outset, a cloud of melancholy hangs over the track, woven through dense chords and bittersweet melodies. Yet, rather than wallowing in introspection, the band masterfully juxtapose a driving, urgent beginning with a slower, more reflective section, where sweeping shards of guitar cut through the atmosphere.
As the song unfurls, it shifts, gradually, almost imperceptibly, toward something more hopeful. The climax arrives with a singalong chorus that lifts the entire track, offering a sense of release and resolution. It’s this emotional duality that makes the song so compelling: the weight of sadness giving way to something cathartic, almost euphoric.
Speaking about the track, co-vocalist and guitarist Felix Mackenzie-Barrow says:
“I wrote Hangman late one night, freezing in my mouldy bedroom after a long shift as a support worker; the job I was doing at the time. The lyrics and chords and structure came out complete in about twenty minutes, I had stolen Tiger’s Ominchord for it, which is not an instrument I would usually use for writing. The job I was doing necessitated a high level of emotional control, which was not something I had experienced before and so writing about the work and allowing my subconscious to flow freely helped me to gain some perspective. I listened to it on the way back to work the following morning over and over and I felt like I’d done a good one. I only worked in that job for about six months, but it was simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding work I’ve ever done. The admiration I have for the people I worked with and the people who choose that career is immense. The world of social care is hidden in a society that likes to pretend it doesn’t exist, but it is vital and deserves much more focus and investment than it currently receives.”
With this latest release, Divorce continue to carve out their own distinctive space, proving once again their ability to turn heartache into something deeply affecting and, ultimately, uplifting.
