by Karen E. Graves

Released through Reprise Records, Divine Discontent is Sixpence None the Richer's fourth proper album, not counting 1999's premature career retrospective Collage: A Portrait of Their Best. Ready to be issued two years prior to its eventual release, the album had been plagued by label issues before the band's inking with Reprise. The album opens with "Breathe Your Name," a prime example of the sweet acoustic pop that has helped Austin, TX's Sixpence None the Richer make a name for itself. The addition of light drum machine tones to a few of the album's tracks provides just a little more of an edge, and gives vocalist Leigh Nash an endearingly Dido-esque chanteuse quality. Still, even with a few distorted guitars in the mix, it is unlikely that anyone would ever accuse Sixpence None the Richer of being a rock band, and that is just fine, because the bandmembers are great at what they do, and to try to dress things up with too much studio gimmickry and wanky guitar solos would overshadow their charming pop sensibility. With several vocal layers stacking up to add power to the chorus and some of those stray fuzzy guitars working their magic, "Tonight" could pass for the finer moments of an outfit like the Corrs, while "Paralyzed," with the darkest lyrics and music ever included on a Sixpence record, calls to mind groups like the Cranberries, 10,000 Maniacs, or even Garbage, though this heavy number is very much the exception and not the rule on Divine Discontent.... Read More...