Saturday, November 11, 2006

LAVENDER DIAMOND...



...is my favorite new band.

They're led by a tsunami named BECKY STARK, who's part opera singer, part Andy Kaufman-esque comedian, and the only lead singer I've seen who speaks in between songs, at length, with a straight face, about bringing peace to the world (okay, Bono does this too; but Becky Stark seems to have no ego, and she wears old dresses, and, well, it's just different, okay?).

Lavender Diamond has a wonderfully full sound, and sometimes reminds me of old L.A. shoe-gazer bands of the past (especially the various groups master-minded by Dave Roback, like Opal and Mazzy Star), except there's an ambition and scope that makes them rise above such comparisons, and at its best, Lavender Diamond has a cinematic quality that evokes a religious feeling, of vaudeville, or perhaps just of Dorothy singing her heart out, hoping to get back to Kansas.

So, thankfully some other folks dig Lavender Diamond as much as I do, and they'll soon be releasing an album on Matador Records (which, along with labels like Merge, Drag City, Sub Pop, K, E6, Saddle Creek, Orange Twin, and 4AD, has given an outlet to most of the vital American indie rock of the past 15 years).

It's also worth noting that Lavender Diamond reminds me a bit of my favorite band from Athens, Georgia--HOPE FOR AGOLDENSUMMER...not to mention one of my favorite Brooklyn bands, THE LAST TOWN CHORUS.

Each of these bands creates hand-made, haunted music that will stun you with its peculiar beauty and remind you of the months of July and August when you were eight years old. That sort of makes sense, right?

So.

Check out LAVENDER DIAMOND on their website or at MYSPACE.