Lavender Diamond: Imagine Our Love
Lavender Diamond have produced a beautiful record
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Tuesday, 08, May 2007 01:43
Rough Trade, out May 7th.
In a nutshell.
Melodic, enchanting, really rather wonderful
What's it all about?
Imagine Our Love is the first UK release from Californian quartet Lavender Diamond and is released on Rough Trade Records.
At 12 tracks long, the record is a long-player in the true sense of the word, clocking it at well over an hour, the album floats from one glorious song to another with subtle musical shifts.
Oh No gently wafts to the sound of sleigh bells, while the foliage-influenced Garden Rose takes on a lazy country/bluegrass twang and the latter half of the CD floats along to the haunting sound of Stark's voice coupled with melodic piano-based compositions.
Who's it by?
Lavender Diamond - originally performing in a play penned by leading lady Becky Stark - are a foursome of LA-based musicians. Springing up from the hotter-than-hot California scene, Imagine Or Love follows successful solo careers in both visual and musical art for all members.
Joining Spark are pianist Steven Gregoropoulous, cartoonist-come-drummer Ron Rege Jr and former member of San Fran punk band Pink and Brown, Jeff Rosenberg.
Signed to achingly hip - though equally understated - label Matador in the US and MySpace friends with Eleni Mandell, the band are representative of the emerging nouveau folk scene in LA which combines art with music and continues to produce acts reminiscent of the British folk revival of the late 60s and early 70s.
The band have self-released three EPs since 2003, more recently contributing to a Split 7 inch with folk icon Devendra Banhart and Queens of Sheba.
As an example.
"I love how the garden grows/And I love the garden rose." - Garden Rose
"I thought my mother was the lord/ But how can that be when the lord is a man/ Oh I must be on the side of the lord/ But it seems these days like all the sides are changing." - Side of the Lord.
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Let's hope so; though this record may remain floating on the clouds above the mainstream critics and as such tragically miss out on grand-scale recognition.
What the others say
"Lavender Diamond are making music of the sort usually only sung by forest pixies," said the Guardian Guide.
So is it any good?
This is an absolutely amazing record. Like a return to the glory days of the early 70s, Imagine Our Love could well be the illegitimate -perhaps hazed-induced love child - of Fairport Convention original Sandy Deny, with Brian Wilson, Crosby Stills, Nash (without the Young) and all the members of Love fighting for paternity.
Current single Open Your Heart nestles nicely with its crescendo of strings next to quieter tracks Find A Way and My Shadow Is A Monday.
Each of the twelve songs are a musical journey as new instruments are introduced and the listener is kept hankering for more of Spark's siren sounds. Like melted chocolate scooped out of a fondu pot on a cold, snowy day, her soothing voice snares the ear drum and touches the heart.
Imagine Our Love is a musical masterpiece that thoroughly deserves to be revered and placed proudly between Fairport's Leige and Leaf and Love's Forever Changes.
9/10
Rebecca Amir