Divergent Light Up the Floor With “Not Until It’s Right”

Divergent are not here to play it safe. They are here to play it loud. Their latest single, “Not Until It’s Right,” feels like the kind of track that gets you out of your chair before you even realize it. It is not just a song. It is a full-body experience built from instinct, tight chemistry, and a decades-long friendship that clearly still has fire in it.

The trio of James Richards, Mike McAlister, and Paul Richards are longtime collaborators who finally decided to stop overthinking and just do the damn thing. After years apart, they reunited under a new name and tapped into an energy that cannot be faked. “Not Until It’s Right” takes everything Divergent have been teasing in their earlier work, from their free-spirited debut “Runnin’ Free” to their evolving live sound, and spins it into something fresh, magnetic, and just the right amount of dirty.

The track opens with Paul’s crisp drumsticks snapping you to attention before James’ keys and Mike’s bass slither in like co-conspirators. The groove is playful, confident, and slightly dangerous, like flirting under neon lights while already knowing how the night ends. Lyrically, the song keeps it simple and bold. Boy meets girl. The girl refuses half-hearted love. The only way to earn it is to move at her pace. “No, no, no,” she says, and that hook sticks instantly. It is cheeky, catchy, and it drives home the idea that love, like music, only hits when the timing is right.

Where Divergent really shines is in the performance itself. You can hear how much fun they are having. James lays down a hypnotic piano line that began, as the story goes, on his old Chickering upright. It sounds like a memory turning into movement. Mike’s bass walks with swagger, weaving through the rhythm like it is effortless. Paul’s drumming brings that big-room pulse that reminds you these three are built for the stage. Nothing is polished to death. Everything feels alive.

The video filmed at Sweetwater Studios captures Divergent exactly as they are. Three musicians locked into their craft and vibing like they own the room. There is no front, no forced branding, no pretending. They are playing because it is in their blood. That kind of authenticity is rare now.

Divergent may be seasoned players, but this new chapter feels like the beginning of something wild. If “Not Until It’s Right” is a preview of their upcoming album Rev It Up, then buckle up. This band is not done making noise. They are only getting warmed up.

This track captures a feeling of weightlessness, late-night possibility.  What moment or memory sparked the story behind "Not Until It's Right"?

James: Actually, there's not one specific moment or memory that sparked the story behind "Not Until It's Right".  When I write, I usually come up with the music first, then the lyrics.  The piano chord sequence that kicks off the song has a strong rhythmic drive that immediately sets the tone. That rhythmic chord sequence immediately invoked in me a feeling of dancing.  I knew right away the lyrics would center around that kind of theme. 

The fact that I would be comfortable writing lyrics about dancing is probably the more interesting story behind the song.  I inherited my musical genes from my mother and her side of the family.  My mother loved music.  She loved to sing and dance.  When I was a toddler, I remember singing Christmas songs with her. Just the two of us.  When I was a kid, I remember her telling me stories about how she loved to dance the jitterbug when she was young.  So, all of that was instilled in me at a young age.  As a result, I grew up with a love of music and a strong sense of rhythm.  I remember being the only guy who would dance with the girls on fast songs during junior high school dances.  That was pretty fun!  Later in life, my wife and I went through a period when we went out dancing on Saturday nights.  My wife also has great rhythm and loves to dance. 

Needless to say, we had a lot of fun. We were a lot younger then!  So, I think the combination of those experiences seeped into the dancing theme of the song.  I centered the story of the song around a guy seeing a girl dancing in a club on a Saturday night and immediately falling in love at first sight.  The story is completely fictional, but it nicely supports the dancing theme of the song. 

When I finished the lyrics, I noticed the girl in the song completely controls the situation and is not willing to submit to the guy's initial attraction until she's satisfied that he is just right. Her love needs rhythm to survive, so she needs a lover who has rhythm and can dance. 

However, she is initially attracted to him, and he senses that.  He's willing to hang in there with her initial rejection because he thinks she is worth it.  So, on the surface, the lyrics seem fairly straightforward.  However, if you break it down, definite sub-themes are going on. 

History, culture, and even biology show that dancing is a part of human mate selection. It just is.  Who knows where we would be as a human race without dancing?  Right?  Another sub-theme is that the girl freely expresses her power to decide if this guy is right or not.  I like that.  Unfortunately, I've seen a lot of female oppression in my life. I'm not a fan of any form of human oppression.  Being free from oppression is a theme that runs through a lot of my writing.  I like it when a person feels empowered to decide what is right for them.  You only have one life to get it right, so stand up for yourself and make it count. 

James' piano riff sets the stage for the song.  How did each member build on that initial spark?

James: We definitely went through a building process on this song.  I initially showed the song to Paul, and he and I worked on it with keyboards and drums.  As always, we played through it a bunch of times as Paul developed his drum parts.  One time during his count off, he randomly hit his drumsticks together, which created a nice clicking sound that really worked.  I said Let's do that every time at the beginning of the song and it stuck.  That made it on the final recording. We also worked quite a bit on the timing of the bridge. 

It took a little work, but we finally got it where we wanted it.  It's a tricky section. We recorded four rough demos and sent the best one to Mike in New Jersey.  Then Mike worked on it for a few days and sent his bass recording back to us. Wow, he had this walking bassline on the verses that I did not see coming.  There's no way I would have thought of that.  It was such a surprise that I didn't know what to think at first.  However, the more I listened to it, the more I understood where he was coming from. 

I love that bassline now, and I couldn't imagine the song without it. That is such a great example of what we're going for with this band. We want to challenge each other to think divergently so that the culmination of all three of us working together takes the music to a higher level.   

Mike: I listened to the keyboard, drums, and vocals a few times on the demo tape, and it felt like a very danceable song that needed a moving bassline. I've always thought that in most songs, the bass is what makes me want to move or not, so I started playing around with a walking bassline. Over a few more weeks of trying different things, I decided to be very intentional and make it a pattern, being sure I tied the tune together. I think it worked out pretty well, and it's one of the more enjoyable basslines I've worked on.

Paul: We initially brought the drums in as a rim shot, but changed it to a stick click to lighten it up more. From there, I wanted it to continue the light pop/dance feel, but also build, and eventually it rocks at the end. I kind of look at the song like a couple of dancers that are totally in sync with one another, and they keep building their dance as the song progresses.

Compared to "Runnin' Free," this song feels more carefree and dance-focused.  Was that shift intentional?

James: Well, yes and no. The shift from "Runnin' Free" to "Not Until It's Right" wasn't specifically intentional on my part.  When I write, I focus on each song separately, and I don't worry about how a particular song sounds compared to my other songs. However, I'm not intentionally trying to make each song different. What is intentional is that we want to create iconic songs that are timeless and stand on their own.  Not based on genre, but based on pure originality. Every time I start writing new music, that's what I'm thinking about. 

I'm always searching for an iconic song.  I'm not worried about whether it falls into a particular genre or not.  What I'm worried about is if this is an original, inspiring piece of music that could be remembered for all time.  That's a big and maybe unattainable goal, but it keeps me coming back to the well to write another song.

We also intentionally named ourselves Divergent because we don't want to limit ourselves to one narrow genre.  We love writing and playing a broad range of rock music, and, at this stage in our lives, we want to express ourselves to the fullest extent possible.  

Mike: Divergent is about trying different musical ideas and not being locked into any particular genre. I think for "Not Until it's Right" we were thinking about a fun song with a definite bounce and a different vibe than "Runnin' Free".

I think we've always enjoyed playing music people would dance to… thinking back to when James and I were in high school playing our first gigs together, responding to the energy of the dancers in the crowd. It's as much fun to watch people enjoy our music as it is to play it for them.

Paul: Totally our intent. You're never going to get the same tune with Divergent. It's not in our musical DNA. Our music brings in so many styles that it's hard to pin us down to a specific genre.

The video radiates an effortless chemistry between the three of you.  What was the most memorable moment from filming at Sweetwater Studios?

James: For me, it was the fact that we were there and actually doing it.  It was very surreal for me.  The first time I went to Sweetwater was several years ago during one of their Gear Fest events.  I toured Sweetwater Studios, and I remember being totally impressed with the entire studio and all the gear they had. 

At that point, I never would have imagined that I would record there, let alone shoot a music video there! I would say that the video definitely captures how much we love music and how much we enjoy playing original music together.  We are doing this because it is in our souls. There's a lot of history between the three of us. 

We grew up in the same small town in Iowa, and Paul is my brother, and Mike and I are childhood friends who started hanging out and playing music when we were 14. We have come a long way since then, and the fact that we still love doing this together is amazing all by itself.  

Mike: In my mind, the most memorable moment was watching the video filming process unfold and feeling it was so natural for us to create a video around our great music. In many ways, the energy we were able to convey in the video was as natural as playing the song together in rehearsals, live for an audience, or during the recording process. It's all part of our energy and vibe.

Paul: I remember looking at the other two guys and thinking, "Is this really happening?" When the cameras and lighting started being set up, it sank in that we're going to take this unique experience to a whole different level.

As you prepare for the 2026 album Rev It Up, how does "Not Until It's Right" foreshadow where Divergent's sound is heading?

James: I think the difference between "Runnin' Free" and "Not Unitl It's Right" foreshadows that the Divergent sound is going to be well... divergent.  We're not interested in, for example, just three-chord power rock all of the time.  Sure, I'm the first one who likes to turn it up loud and rock out. I'll take the blame for playing too loudly any day.  I admit it. We're always going to have that loud, power rock aspect to our music.  But, hey, there's so much more to our musical palette.

Playing the exact same narrow style of music all the time gets a little boring and constrained.  We value originality and independent thought.  So, that's what you're going to see more of on our second album. I would say the songwriting, playing, and production on the upcoming second album are stronger than those on the first one.  That's our goal.  We want to keep getting better and more sophisticated and original in everything we do.  That's the Divergent sound.  

Mike: From my perspective, the bassline in "Not Until It's Right" was more complex than it was in "Runnin' Free". There are a few songs on that album that get a little complicated, but to be honest, I was working hard to be consistent and not too adventurous during that first recording session. However, knowing we were going to record more of James' amazing songs after the first recording session, I wanted to be able to feel more confident in what I brought to the table, so I worked on my technique and speed in the time between albums.

I feel like technically my basslines are better and more expressive in all the songs on "Rev it Up," and it helps to bring out the best of our collective musicality. Jason Peets, our producer, also has an amazing way of making my tone come through the mix perfectly. Listeners will truly think that our sound and musical direction are divergent when they hear our new music.

There are a few rockers, but the eight songs on the next album feature several other mixes of genres and feels. To answer your question, Divergent's sound isn't headed in a single direction.  We can't wait to release the new music to our fans, so they will get a better idea of what it truly means to be Divergent! 

Paul: The new album has lots of hard-driving rockers, ballads, and continues to lean into our progressive roots as well. There's more going on vocally, too. We've worked in lots of layers. Listeners can expect to hear Mike more on this album as well. He was able to add more low-end and also gave us some killer bass runs.