Right Direction – The Dirty Diamonds
Where Are The Words – The Dirty Diamonds
I think I may have found my favorite album of the year…and it’s not at ALL what I would have predicted. As opposed to fey indie rock, or folkish indie rock, or tortured indie rock (which pretty much covers my favorites from all the previous years of this blog’s existence), this time it’s…60s girl group/soul revival. And it’s only 6 songs long. But sometimes an album hits you so hard that you have to just go along with the flow.
Monster Ballads, the new EP from The Dirty Diamonds, is that sort of record. It starts out with a short intro, that is puzzling and unnecessary. But the first real track “Where Are The Words?” hits just about every button that makes the music of the mid 60s so timeless. It’s got vocal harmonies that soar and dip, that insistent tambourine-driven beat, and a looseness that makes it sound fresh beyond words. It’s light and so genuine that your heart almost wants to burst.
The second track “The Undertaker” dials things down a notch, offering a more traditional soul atmosphere. Once again, the vocal harmonies are the real selling point. Just listen to the bit about 90 seconds in (“drink with the lights out”) and tell me you aren’t absolutely sold. All of this means that when you get to the main hook for the song “dance the night away, sha la la” it sounds like the most natural thing in the world.
“By Default” lies somewhere in between the opening two tracks – it’s the sort of song that makes you want to dance, but not in a frenetic, insistent sort of way. Rather, it invites you out for a little spin, no demands, no promises, no questions.
That perfectly sets the tone for the next track, the ridiculously named “Hope U Had Phun!” which somehow manages to live up to the title (exclamation point and all). Where “By Default” gave you some space, this track immediately jumps inside you, wrapping you up in the most brilliantly orchestrated piece of New Wave, lo-fi, in your face girl-pop. It absolutely shouldn’t work and yet somehow it does. This one of the most joyous songs I’ve heard in years, made all the better because I still can’t really understand why it works so well.
“No Heroes” is the penultimate track – and while it’s my least favorite of the bunch, it’s still a wonderful song, full of soul and gently etched pain.
Which leaves only the final track, “Right Direction” which I talked about a couple months ago, and which has to be a strong competitor for song of the year. Like I said back then: “Great harmonies, an awesome underlying beat, a call and response bit at the end that’s just gleefully self-aware (“when I say Dirty, you say Diamonds”). It’s everything I love about 60s doo-wop acts combined with everything I love about electro dance pop. And it’s a right good time.” If “Right Direction” doesn’t get you excited about life, then pretty much nothing will.
Did I mention that you can download this album for FREE? Yeah, basically the Dirty Diamonds are my new favorite people.