REVIEW: St. Divine – ‘you can’t go forward and you can’t go back’

New York City’s St. Divine have never been interested in rushing the moment. Their debut EP ‘you can’t go forward and you can’t go back’ captures the eerie magic of being suspended in time, equal parts retro haze and modern defiance. It’s a soundtrack for the in-between, delivered by a band with deep roots in the city’s rock lineage and an unflinching gaze fixed firmly on the present.

This seven-track release draws from the band’s 2024 catalogue, adding the previously unreleased opener ‘New Kind Of Kick’ that hints at the expansive depth they’ve only begun to tap. Led by songwriter and studio architect Will Croxton and paired with the mystic force of Judy Ann Nock, St. Divine finds its pulse in contrast. Their sound folds psych-rock, garage, and outsider Americana into something raggedly elegant and oddly comforting.

The standout single ‘We Had Love’ evokes the Velvet Underground with its bold doses of cool and subterranean ache. It’s no surprise then that the group recently honored Lou and co. with a tribute show on St. Mark’s Place, cementing their place in the tradition of downtown dissonance and romantic ruin.

What truly sets ‘you can’t go forward and you can’t go back’ apart is its refusal to sanitise emotion. The production lets the cracks show. These are songs that bleed and howl when the world won’t answer. Whether it’s the jangling anxiety of ‘Swallow’ or the slow-burning heartbreak woven into their cover choices, St. Divine’s debut resists neat resolutions. Instead, it gives you a mirror. What you do with it is up to you.

With appearances on independent radio stations, a growing live presence, and a summer tour stretching from the Northeast to Chicago, St. Divine are quickly becoming more than a whisper in the scene. They’re a necessary echo. And if this EP is just the beginning, it’s a damn compelling one.