The Los Angeles quartet Lavender Diamond managed to both anger and thrill me in the short time it took to listen to their four song EP. There are tracks here that are great and others that are less so, but all in all, the songs' ultimate success or failure depends on the arrangement created around lead singer Becky Stark's vocals. Stark is a singer with a pretty voice. It's girlie and feminine, not exactly the kind that's going to go head to head with Stevie Nicks or Pat Benatar in a belting contest. That being said, special care has to be given to make sure Stark, and that little thing known as the lyrics, don't get lost in the mix.
Unfortunately, that's what happens in the EP's opener "You Broke My Heart". The instrumentation here is almost clunky and a little to harsh. The lyrics are more suited to a piano ballad than a cacophony of song and through it all, Stark sounds like she's straining to be heard. Track #2 "Please" and #4 "Rise in the Springtime" aren't as heavy, but they came off as a little too precious.
But, just when you think you have a band figured out (i.e. when I was shaking my head in despair) something wonderful can happen. Song #3 "In Heaven There is No Heat" is one of the best things I've heard in years. It's a folk pop masterpiece that gently helps Stark's vocals to soar. Musically, the song plays like something right out of the sweetly sonic 60s but it never descends into the cheesy kind of tune that had hippies holding Coke bottles going on and on about "teaching the world to sing".
Lavender Diamond's disc is on the uneven side, but when they do get it right, this four piece is so intriguing that they definitely score high on my "one's to watch" list. |