The current dearth of decent British guitar music may be worrying, but there are grass shoots of recovery across the nation.
Groups such as Johnny Foreigner and Hot Club De Paris have produced excellent EPs this year, while The Phantom Band have returned with a dark, complex and extremely ambitious new album.
Underneath this, a host of small labels are bringing together new talent. In Leeds, dream pop group The Diamond Sea recently released their debut album attracting a flurry of interest across the country.
Taking their name from a Sonic Youth track, The Diamond Sea share a similar love of dissonance. However the out-there musical expansions of the New York band are swapped for something more ethereal.
It’s easy to play ‘spot the influence’ – Slowdive, Cocteau Twin, maybe a bit of the current Brooklyn scene – but what comes through is a group finding their own identity. When it works, debut album ‘Second Move’ shows The Diamond Sea to be capable of crafting sublime fuzz layered indie pop.
Recorded in a lo-fi fashion, ‘Second Move’ is a brave first step. As a special preview, The Diamond Sea have offered up album highlight ‘Brand New’ as a free download.
Listen to it now… Grab it HERE.
