Album Divers

On this final episode of 2025, Trevor and Shane each select 5 albums and together compile their top 10 albums of the year. The ground rules were simple and were the same this year as prior years: 1. They couldn't select an album from 2025 that already had a "deep dive" episode. 2. They wouldn't be ranking their top 5 or the final top 10 in any particular order 3. They couldn't both select the same...

For this episode, Trevor and Shane are joined by acclaimed writer James Campion, author of Revolution: Prince, the Band, the Era, whose deep well of knowledge on Prince proves invaluable as he selects Around the World in a Day for a full track-by-track dive. Coming on the heels of Purple Rain, this album represents one of the boldest pivots in Prince’s career and an intentional left turn away from...

For his latest pick of a 2025 album, Shane selects the striking debut album Drive to Goldenhammer by Nottingham’s genre-defying band, Divorce. Balancing grit and vulnerability, Divorce delivers a bold introduction with their unique blend of alt-country, art rock, and post-punk flair. Shane and Trevor explore the raw emotional terrain of this album — from heartbreak to self-destruction — and apprec...

For Shane's next pick of an album that has "been around awhile" he selects the iconic debut "Ten" by grunge legends, Pearl Jam. Even with Trevor's Seattle roots, and Shane's incessant teasing about being him being old, Trevor and Shane were too young to remember the grunge movement while it was happening. Nonetheless, these songs were and continue to be pervasive both in their lives and in the his...

On this final episode of 2024, Trevor and Shane each select 5 albums and together compile their top 10 albums of the year. The ground rules were simple and were the same this year as prior years: 1. They couldn't select an album from 2024 that already had a "deep dive" episode. 2. They wouldn't be ranking their top 5 or the final top 10 in any particular order 3. They couldn't both select the same...

On this special episode, Trevor sits down with his lifelong childhood friend Caleb to discuss his pick of the band Needtobreathe’s 2021 album, “Into the Mystery.” This is an album that speaks deeply to Caleb in its lyrics and music that touch on themes of love, coming of age, and spirituality. This was Trevor’s introduction to the band and an opportunity to connect even deeper to a meaningful frie...

For his next pick of an album from this calendar year, Shane selects the 7th studio album by the Manchester art rock band, Everything Everything. The album is a concept album and metaphor for human inequality depicted as a fictional world where the common workers (Mountainheads) must build a giant mountain where every inch higher brings them deeper and deeper into a pit they find themselves living...

On this special episode, Trevor sits down with Joey Deschenes, his long time friend and lead singer of the band Carciofi to discuss Joey's favorite band and one of his favorite albums of all time with Primus's Sailing the Seas of Cheese. For over four decades now, Primus has combined some of the most technically complex music in rock and roll with some of the silliest imagery, both from a songwrit...

On this special episode, Shane and Trevor sit down with sisters Gwennie and Lucy Giles of the pop-punk duo Dog Party and discuss their latest album Dangerous. This is already the 7th studio album for the Giles sisters who began playing and writing songs together when they were just kids growing up in Sacramento. Dangerous is also their first release under their own label, "Sneak Dog Records" co-fo...

On this special episode, Trevor sits down with his sister Jessie to discuss her favorite all time artist Joanna Newsom. Joanna has the ability to channel a childlike innocence in her voice, yet at the same time a mythical elderly sage. Her lyrics are no less mysterious, and Jessie and Trevor have fun trying to unwrap all of the meaning behind these 5 tracks that span almost an hour. Part of the be...

On this episode, Trevor and Shane sit down with Lizzie Killian, the voice and mind behind Teens in Trouble's debut album What's Mine. In the words of the album's producer/engineer Ryan Perras (and uttered by him in the background during the album itself if you listen closely enough), "When you're doing songs like this the key is to make it as stupid as humanely fucking possible." That isn't exactl...

For his next pick of an album that has “been around awhile,” Trevor takes us back to 1997 and selects Radiohead’s groundbreaking album Ok Computer. This was more or less Shane’s entry point into the band, at least as far as consuming a full album is concerned. As is commonly the case with this band, it took time for Shane to appreciate these songs and this album in its entirety, just like it did f...

On this final (and unfortunately only) episode of 2023, Trevor and Shane each select 5 albums and together compile their top 10 albums of the year. The ground rules were simple and were the same this year as prior years: 1. They couldn't select an album from 2023 that already had a "deep dive" episode. 2. They wouldn't be ranking their top 5 or the final top 10 in any particular order 3. They coul...

On this final episode of 2022, Trevor and Shane each select 5 albums and together compile their top 10 albums of the year. The ground rules were simple and were the same this year as last year: 1. They couldn't select an album from 2022 that already had a "deep dive" episode. 2. They wouldn't be ranking their top 5 or the final top 10 in any particular order 3. They couldn't both select the same a...

For his next pick of an album that has, “been around awhile” Shane selects Mandolin Orange’s 2015 release, “Such Jubilee.” Mandolin Orange (now known as Watchhouse since a name change last year) is an Americana/Folk duo from North Carolina formed in 2009 by husband and wife duo Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz. Shane has special memories with this band seeing them live with his father. Trevor’s intr...

For Shane's pick of a 2022 album, he selected indie rock staple Arcade Fire and their new album "WE.” This was a unique endeavor for your hosts at Album Divers in that Arcade Fire is a band Trevor had been following since their beginnings but lost track of in recent years, and Shane, though familiar with the band’s music, had never listened to an entire album from start to finish. Arcade Fire’s la...

For their next pick of an album that has been around awhile, Trevor and Shane go back 55 years to the date to break down an album that needs no introduction, The Beatles’ “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Recognizing this as an arduous task, Shane and Trevor were fortunate and grateful to have Authors James Campion and Katie Darby Mullins provide their thoughts on this iconic album on t...

  On this special bonus episode, Trevor and Shane sit down with author James Campion to discuss his new book "Take a Sad Song...the Emotional Currency of Hey Jude." James is a syndicated columnist and editor for the pop culture magazine “The Aquarian Weekly." His long form essays are featured in the webzine "Dog Door Culture,” and his work has appeared in several periodicals including Huffington P...

On this special episode, Trevor and Shane sit down with musician Jesse Norell to discuss the first music he has written in over 15 years, a concept album about the birth and subsequent medical challenges facing his now 6 year old daughter Alyssa. On the day of her birth, Jesse found out in the same moment that Alyssa both had Down syndrome and holes in her heart that would require open heart surge...

For his first selection of 2022, Trevor goes all the way back to 1963 and selects Sam Cooke's second live album, "One Night Stand: Live at the Harlem Square Club." Though recorded 22 years earlier, this album was not released to the public until 1985 as Sam Cooke's record label felt that the raw and unpolished sound of Cooke performing in a small predominately black club in Florida would damage hi...

On this final episode of 2021, Trevor and Shane each select 5 albums  and together compile their top 10 albums of the year. The ground rules were simple and were the same this year as last year: 1. They couldn't select an album from 2021 that already had a "deep dive" episode. 2. They wouldn't be ranking their top 5 or the final top 10 in any particular order 3. They couldn't both select the same...

For his last selection of a 2021 album, Trevor selects Lucy Dacus' June release titled, "Home Video."  Lucy Dacus has carved a name for herself with her unique songwriting and layered themes. Once a film school student prior to becoming a musician, Lucy has now released three studio albums as well as collaborated with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker to form the supergroup "Boy Genius." This album...

For Shane's pick of an album that has "been around awhile," he selects Ben Folds' 2001 release Rockin' the Suburbs. Trevor and Shane have fun reminiscing on an album that they both have history with and memories listening to growing up. This album covers topics of love, fatherhood, self-identity, and depression but somehow also manages to work in some humor on a couple of tracks. Some of the songs...

For Trevor's next pick of a new album from 2021, he selects the latest from Counting Crows titled Butter Miracle Suite One. Joining Trevor and Shane for this album dive is special guest Katie Darby Mullins. In addition to being a die-hard fan of the band, Katie is also a longtime friend of lead singer Adam Duritz. If that isn't enough to get you excited, she also teaches creative writing at the Un...

For his next pick of an album that has "been around awhile," Trevor selects Harvey Danger's third and final album, "Little by Little." Shane and Trevor are fortunate to have lead singer and talented writer Sean Nelson along for the track-by-track deep dive of this amazing album, a favorite of Trevor's since he first heard it in college and remains so today. If you only know Harvey Danger by their...