Little Diamonds - New Orleans Bound
Little Diamonds, since his 2010
recording debut, has received a flood of justified praise from critics and
audiences alike. His modern take on traditional American music definitely works
within the singer/songwriter vein and wears its influences on its sleeve, but
he transmutes those traditions through his own strong personality and infuses
the twelve songs on his second album with an unique identity. These aren’t
merely tributes to old music or greater talents. This is the work of a young
artist who has adopted an older form as a viable vehicle for self-expression.
New Orleans Bound is a substantive musical work that hangs together without a
single lull and has an across the board lyrical consistency. Despite his
Minnesota upbringing, Little Diamonds can pull off a credible southern accent
that invests the songs with some added atmosphere that never risks tackiness.
There are two full band songs on the
album. The first, “12-12-12”, is a humorous yarn about the end of the world
seemingly manifesting itself in a variety of ways and the narrator’s bemused
contending with it all. Little Diamonds handles finding his place amid the
added instrumentation with sure instincts and knows just how to pitch his voice
against the other players. The drums present in this song really make a
difference and give the song a shape that the solo numbers lack. The album’s
second full band track, the title song, is the broadest number musically.
Little Diamonds brings a jazzy influence, via the Big Easy, to bear on the
arrangement and it creates a dramatic contrast with the steel guitars present
in the song. Little Diamonds sounds genuinely inspired to be singing against
this backing track and his voice jumps with the same liveliness he puts into
the songwriting.
The remainder of the album is divided
between solo performances featuring Diamonds, his acoustic guitar work, and
occasional harmonica sitting alongside other performances that normally feature
fiddle in accompaniment with occasional fills from other stringed instruments.
The opening tandem of “I Don’t Know About You” and “Never Met You at All” sound
like pages ripped from the autobiography of bad relationships and Diamonds
gives great performances on both songs that never play their somewhat bitter
lyrical content with too heavy of a hand. “Lord, Come Down” is one of the
strongest solo performances thanks to the intense lyrical clarity and the focus
Little Diamonds brings to both his playing and vocal performance.
Two of the most important songs on New
Orleans Bound are character studies. “Duluth Grandma” and “Old Man Al” are
supremely detailed distillations of character and highlight Diamonds’
storytelling abilities. The musical backing on both of these songs is written
cognizant of the importance of the words, but they aren’t merely ornamental.
The former song has particularly melodic guitar work. New Orleans Bound is one
of the best traditional albums to emerge from the Americana scene in recent
memory and deserves a wide audience. Little Diamonds is a multi-faceted talent
who will only continue growing from here.
9 out of 10 stars
Michael Saulman
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