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Dec 01, 2021 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Sarah Berman

Jeff Berman’s long-running punk outfit Divided Heaven is returning next year with their fourth LP, Oblivion. Labeled by Berman as his most confrontational, caustic, and ambitious project yet, the record sees him pair with producers Charlie Stavish (Jenny Lewis, Vacation Manor), Frank Turner, Tim van Doorn (Joe McMahon, Tim Vantol), and Mike Biancaniello (5 Seconds of Summer). Each brings something different to the album, allowing the moments of intimate Americana to shine with the same sheen as the punk cuts.

Divided Heaven has been steadily sharing new releases from the record, most recently last month with “Burn Me,” and today they’re back with their latest effort, “Beginning of the End,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Beginning of the End” leans into the band’s guitar pop credentials, delivering pop melodies in a surprisingly short but irresistibly catchy package. A longtime live staple for the band, the song is a gem of insistent pop songwriting, complete with a climactic key change and warm harmonies, yet also retains hints of the band’s punk credentials through its maximalist layers of guitar. Beneath the pop sheen, there’s also a reflective lyrical element as Berman makes the hard decision to cut off a toxic loved one.

Berman says of the track, “It’s difficult to watch the people you love change for the worse. Seeing loved ones really struggle with their mental health, fall into the void of conspiracy theories, entrench themselves in pandemic-denial and/or religious zealotry… it can be hard to be supportive and maintain your personal boundaries. ‘Beginning of the End’ is about that difficult but necessary severance of cutting toxic people from your life. Despite being a short ripper of a song (and a set staple for full-band Divided Heaven for years) this was a hard song to finalize on tape. Thankfully, Frank Turner’s production helped guide this song to a powerful end and I’m very excited for everyone to hear it!”

Frank Turner says of his contribution, “It was a real pleasure to work with Jeff on ‘Beginning Of The End’ -it’s a simple, quietly brutal pop song with dirt under its fingernails. Hopefully, I brought something to the table in the mix, but the song was perfectly formed and raring to go before we met.”

Check out the song below. Pre-order Oblivion, out February 4th via A-F Records and Gunner Records.