Local Act

The Sheila Divine

Bringing the drama

Never mind that this year's Best Local Act winners just got dropped by their label, Roadrunner Records. Clearly, the Phoenix readers and 'FNX listeners who voted for the Sheila Divine don't have the same view of the band as the trio's former employers. Less than one year after the Sheilas released New Parade -- an unabashedly epic debut album teeming with mini-anthems such as "Hum" and "Like a Criminal" -- and celebrated the disc's release with a pair of back-to-back sold-out shows at T.T. the Bear's Place, they found themselves searching for a new home. But this certainly hasn't muted the audience appeal of singer-guitarist Aaron Perrino, whose panoramic Bono-by-way-of-Bunnymen voice also earned him first-time Best Local Male Vocalist honors this year.

The Boston music community was initially confounded by the group's penchant for clarion-call guitars and outsize drama (remember that band-bathing flood of white light upstairs at the Middle East?), but in the short time since a quickie EP first introduced us to the three former SUNY College at Oneonta students, the Sheilas -- who also include drummer Shawn Sears and bassist Jim Gilbert -- have become one of the most popular local attractions in memory. Combining wide-screen sonic theater, for which the band have an unsurpassed feel, with manifestos that take aim at soul-numbing consumerism and spirit-crushing capitalism, the Sheilas' heart-on-sleeve, emo-pop approach also recalls U2 in a way that the group perhaps hadn't intended.

Like their Irish idols, the Sheila Divine don't stake out a lot of neutral ground, and folks tend to either love 'em or hate 'em (the Kid Rock festival crowd in Florida that beaned Perrino with a bottle would fall into the latter camp). But as this year's Best Music Poll tally indisputably proves, you can't ignore 'em.

-- Jonathan Perry