Local Review: Menu Diving – Divinity Embraced

Menu Diving
Divinity Embraced

Script Kitty Records
Street: 07.29
Menu Diving = Better Person – Butter Bath

Salt Lake City’s Menu Diving, curated solely by Zane Smith, produces a unique album that gives us a beautiful experience of jumpy twitches and ethereal moments in their latest release, Divinity Embraced. The album’s cover alone catches the eye with colors that don’t seem to go together: pale orange and industrial metallic gray. However, what grabs your attention is the image that appears to be an ultrasound in space with something shadowlike at the bottom, all alone in the universe. It’s definitely an intriguing look. 

The first song, “Refine,” is a solid start with nothing too fancy or dull—it’s just solid enough and gives you an idea of what you’re about to encounter. It effortlessly slides into the next track, “Bioluminescence.” If anyone knows me, they know that I love a good transition! The magical twilight noise sounds like twinkling stars in the universe, almost making you forget the vastness and isolation of the album cover. 

“Skyline” sounds like one of those first-rated singles with its catchy and easy-going tone and Smith’s warm voice. The album takes an upbeat turn with the next one, “Banshee,” with more complexity and electronic-esque undertones. You really start to see Smith’s potential. 

The last song, “Divine” (saving the best for last!), has the most emotional tug in the entirety of Divinity Embraced. You finally gain more pathos and understanding, even if listeners are not quite sure what the singer is saying. It doesn’t matter. The track is a multitude of noise—something worth noticing in SLC’s wide community of local talent. 

For an EP that is only 17 minutes long, you get enough of the artist to know that they thoroughly thought out their use of manipulations and materials. It would be great to check them out live, which I dutifully hope to see for Menu Diving. –Kassidy Waddell

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