The release of Divine Sweater’s Ten Year Plan album has been on Allston Pudding’s radar since the indie dream pop sensations dropped their first single “Looking For You Everywhere” back in 2020. This long-awaited compilation combines Divine Sweater’s signature tight harmonies with synth, steel drums, and the beloved glockenspiel to create a meaningful album that will make any listener ponder about their own ten year plans. 

Photo by Anabel Rios

Each song on Ten Year Plan has a unique story to it, but the same melancholic feeling of dealing with the harsh realities we face as we grow older is pervasive throughout the album. Lonely listeners can take comfort in tracks like “I Knew You Better” and “The Boy Who Went to Space”, which both outline what it feels like to have someone you were once close with become a stranger. “‘The Boy Who Went to Space’ is about when you think you really connect with someone in a relationship, and it ends so abruptly that you’re left thinking that they must have gotten abducted and brainwashed by aliens,” lead vocalist Meghan Kelleher says. “It’s similar to ‘I Knew You Better’ in that way. Having this closeness with someone that just disappears can be a really jarring experience.” 

Photo by Meghan Kelleher

The musicality of Ten Year Plan is fantastically crafted, melding a powerful, silky cello and vibrant guitar chords with ethereal vocal harmonies. “Timekeeper” showcases the steel drum, a new instrument for Divine Sweater, to create the thick, airy almost electronic-like sound in the intro of the song. “‘Timekeeper’ was the first song we wrote for the album, actually, but we deliberately made it the last song on the album,” guitarist Sean Seaver says. Being the last song on the album, “Timekeeper” is a somber conclusion to an existentially hard to swallow, yet stunningly sonorous album. 

Pro tip: This album is a great way to reflect on your own ten year plan. Sitting on your bedroom floor with your head resting on your bed is the best way to consume this album. The sun fading away in the horizon– the only light illuminating your surroundings– creates a fantastic headspace for self-contemplation about what the future holds for you. 

Ten Year Plan is out now on all streaming platforms, and you can listen to it via Bandcamp below.