Sheila Divine

Taking the Sheila part of their name from Aussie slang for “girly men” and adding the Divine at the end could almost sum up this Boston band. Yes, they are a trio of pussies who create emotional guitar romps that tend to be more poseur than authentic emotion, and they couldn’t define Divine if she was a big fat man in drag. If screaming with passion was the only requirement for making emo-pop, maybe New Parade could be hailed as a classic. Aspiring bands take note — soft vocals, plus rockin’ guitars and drums, plus screaming in mock emotional pain equals record deal. An obsession with the ’80s will also help the process along when dealing with balding A&R men who yearn for music they understand and grew up with. Who needs retro when we have the Sheila Divine to chew up and spit out the ’80s in bits.