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The Summer of Love may have been 40 years ago, but its spirit is kept very much alive by hotly-tipped Los Angeles folk-rock quartet Lavender Diamond. As if the names of both the group and their debut album weren't evidence enough of their unashamed hippie sensibilities, a visit to Lavender Diamond's website reveals singer Becky Stark sweetly extolling the virtues of universal love in a band diary and series of cartoon strips entitled Peace Comics.
All very charming and no doubt well-intentioned, but what of their music? Well, fans of Carole King, The Indigo Girls and New York's criminally underrated Hem will certainly find much to enjoy on Imagine Our Love. Stark belts out tasteful, soaring melodies over a rich and full musical backing of guitar, piano, strings and woodwind, which when combined gives songs like 'Open Your Heart' and 'Here Comes One' a euphoric, almost hymnal quality. Sure, the lyrics are as cloyingly sentimental as their website would suggest, and the whole affair has all the edginess of a Women's Institute bring and buy sale, but what they do, Lavender Diamond do very well indeed.
Variation of style is thin on the ground, although occasionally a slower number, such as the Bacharach-aping 'Bring Me A Song' or the country-inflected 'Garden Rose' injects a welcome change of pace on a record that, at 51 minutes, is maybe a couple of tracks too long. Best of all is 'Dance Until Tomorrow', which showcases the classically-trained Stark's dauntingly impressive vocal range to stunning effect.
A rare instrument indeed, capable of recalling Karen Carpenter, Linda Ronstadt and even Liz Fraser of the Cocteau Twins within the same song, Stark's voice is the centrepiece of an album which, without her presence, would struggle to stand out beyond the merely pleasant. But with her on board, Lavender Diamond certainly have the potential to scale greater heights, although one cannot help but think that a slight toning down of the kaftan-clad flower child influences might give their music the much needed bite required to emerge from the shadows of winsome cultdom. --Chris White
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Fey lyrics, winsome nouveau folk, chamber music and an overwhelming sense of serenity and optimism. All fronted by a classically-trained hippie with the voice of a Californian angel and a stunning range - and who in every promo shot I've come across is seen outstretching her arms as if to embrace the world (always wearing frou-frou dresses, often with fairy wings). Her name is Becky Stark, and it's probably one of the least appropriate surnames ever. She is here to bring peace and love to the world. So far, so horrifying.
Now for the good news. Contrary to what you might expect, Stark's vocal performance is understated, and all the more impressive for it. Such is the strength of her voice, she doesn't have to drag out syllables to make them sound like sentences or resort to kitchen sink melodrama. The delivery is absolutely perfect. Likewise, the approach to the lyrics and music is also minimalist and subtle, almost hypnotic to the extent that you forget this spellbinding voice has just repeated the same lines over and over on 'My Shadow is a Monday'. Lavender Diamond's debut is all about lush and soulful tunes, and every song delivers. Imagine Our Love will at times remind you of The Carpenters, Burt Bacharach, The Sundays, Joan Baez and, perhaps, Joanna Newsom, while at others you'll simply feel like you're listening to fairies, elves and pixies performing at the bottom of your garden on a midsummer's evening.
This album will brighten your day.
Now for the good news. Contrary to what you might expect, Stark's vocal performance is understated, and all the more impressive for it. Such is the strength of her voice, she doesn't have to drag out syllables to make them sound like sentences or resort to kitchen sink melodrama. The delivery is absolutely perfect. Likewise, the approach to the lyrics and music is also minimalist and subtle, almost hypnotic to the extent that you forget this spellbinding voice has just repeated the same lines over and over on 'My Shadow is a Monday'. Lavender Diamond's debut is all about lush and soulful tunes, and every song delivers. Imagine Our Love will at times remind you of The Carpenters, Burt Bacharach, The Sundays, Joan Baez and, perhaps, Joanna Newsom, while at others you'll simply feel like you're listening to fairies, elves and pixies performing at the bottom of your garden on a midsummer's evening.
This album will brighten your day.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
If you said that Lavender Diamond sounds like a sparkly, ubersweet little band who plays hopeful pop.... you'd be right.
Fortunately the Angeleno band aren't just restricted in that. Their debut album "Imagine Our Love" is G-rated chamberpop, sure. But it's wrapped in a warm blanket of exquisitely pretty instrumentation, beautiful vocals and a feeling of wistful hope.
Gentle drum and bells segue into an anthemic piano melody, with Becky Stark wistfully crooning, "Oh no, it's such a sad and grey day out/when will I love again?... Oh no, we are turning as we go/into a world of stone..." Not only is it a mournful cry for personal love, but apparently tackling the loveless world outside.
"Garden Rose," on the other hand, fully embraces the chamberfolk description -- weepy strings painted over a gentle acoustic guitar. "I'll never stop a bullet/but a bullet might stop me/I'll never drink the ocean/but the ocean might drink me..."
Then in an about-face, they go all chamberpop in the bouncy, chipper "Open Your Heart" ("Well the streets are low/when you have to go/where are you running to?"). The songs that follow tend to be somewhere in between -- gentle folk, wind-wispy pop, soaring delicate little ballads, and occasionally a thumpy little piano-rocker. The only real misfire is "Like An Arrow," an awkward tribal-thump pop song.
Normally I can only take a small amount of cheery, sunny happiness at once. So it's something of a tribute to "Imagine Our Love" that I can listen to the whole thing in one go -- it sounds like the crystalline little sister of Midlake.
It also staunchly avoids the typical trappings of pop-rock, like electric guitars and bass. Instead, we have some truly ethereal, weeping strings and trickling piano. Sometimes they're played on their own, and sometimes with an acoustic guitar to keep things from just floating away.
And Stark really makes the songs shine by pouring her clear, sweet vocals through them like rays of sun. What's the problem, then? Well, the songs she sings tend to be rather simplistic (see "I'll Never Lie Again," repeated ad nauseam), though they show flickers of songwriting skill. ("You can see this road is forever/so let's dance without any fear..."
Though hampered by their simplistic lyrics, Lavender Diamond excels in every other way in "Imagine Our Love." If they wrote more complex songs, it would be perfect.
Fortunately the Angeleno band aren't just restricted in that. Their debut album "Imagine Our Love" is G-rated chamberpop, sure. But it's wrapped in a warm blanket of exquisitely pretty instrumentation, beautiful vocals and a feeling of wistful hope.
Gentle drum and bells segue into an anthemic piano melody, with Becky Stark wistfully crooning, "Oh no, it's such a sad and grey day out/when will I love again?... Oh no, we are turning as we go/into a world of stone..." Not only is it a mournful cry for personal love, but apparently tackling the loveless world outside.
"Garden Rose," on the other hand, fully embraces the chamberfolk description -- weepy strings painted over a gentle acoustic guitar. "I'll never stop a bullet/but a bullet might stop me/I'll never drink the ocean/but the ocean might drink me..."
Then in an about-face, they go all chamberpop in the bouncy, chipper "Open Your Heart" ("Well the streets are low/when you have to go/where are you running to?"). The songs that follow tend to be somewhere in between -- gentle folk, wind-wispy pop, soaring delicate little ballads, and occasionally a thumpy little piano-rocker. The only real misfire is "Like An Arrow," an awkward tribal-thump pop song.
Normally I can only take a small amount of cheery, sunny happiness at once. So it's something of a tribute to "Imagine Our Love" that I can listen to the whole thing in one go -- it sounds like the crystalline little sister of Midlake.
It also staunchly avoids the typical trappings of pop-rock, like electric guitars and bass. Instead, we have some truly ethereal, weeping strings and trickling piano. Sometimes they're played on their own, and sometimes with an acoustic guitar to keep things from just floating away.
And Stark really makes the songs shine by pouring her clear, sweet vocals through them like rays of sun. What's the problem, then? Well, the songs she sings tend to be rather simplistic (see "I'll Never Lie Again," repeated ad nauseam), though they show flickers of songwriting skill. ("You can see this road is forever/so let's dance without any fear..."
Though hampered by their simplistic lyrics, Lavender Diamond excels in every other way in "Imagine Our Love." If they wrote more complex songs, it would be perfect.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Mentions of hippies and "peace and love" music may have you heading for the horizon. After all, it's all drug-hazed lyrics, oceans of reverb and 20 minute sitar solos, isn't it? Well no, not if California's Lavender Diamond are anything to go by. First there is the voice. Becky Stark is a singer of simple but effective technique, relying (thankfully) on straightforward, crystal clear vocals rather than histrionics or melisma. That's not to say her voice is not expressive: it most certainly is - she can quickly move from a whisper to full steam ahead power, and reach high soprano with consummate ease. Her voice grabs your attention by tapping you politely on the shoulder, not smacking you round the head. Fans of Neko Case, Shivaree's Ambrosia Parsley and Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis will surely approve. The rest of the band's playing is top-notch too - Jeff Rosenberg's acoustic guitar strumming, Ron Rege's drumming and in particular the piano playing of Steve Gregoropoulos complementing their singer without ever threatening a takeover.
Then there are the songs. Simple, achingly tuneful country-folk songs that quietly burrow into your brain and stay there. Lyrics are often repeated, but it's what Stark does with those lyrics that counts. Listen to the way repetition of the simple line "when will I love again?" on opening track Oh No transforms it from a simple rhetorical question to a crescendo of heartfelt longing simply by a change of pitch in Stark's warm upper-register tones. Open Your Heart is as boisterous as Lavender Diamond get. "Alright now, dance!" say the liner notes. "Don't be afraid!" Indeed, don't be - you're not likely to sprain anything. Album centrepiece Dance Until Tomorrow is a beautiful six minute plus epic dedicated to Stark's sister and the best showcase for the singer's talents, her voice nearly reaching the stratosphere at times.
One word of warning - don't listen to The Garden Rose if you're feeling emotionally fragile. The sheer beauty of the melody and pure clarity of Stark's voice will have you blubbing into your hankie in no time. And that, let's face it, could be embarrassing.
Then there are the songs. Simple, achingly tuneful country-folk songs that quietly burrow into your brain and stay there. Lyrics are often repeated, but it's what Stark does with those lyrics that counts. Listen to the way repetition of the simple line "when will I love again?" on opening track Oh No transforms it from a simple rhetorical question to a crescendo of heartfelt longing simply by a change of pitch in Stark's warm upper-register tones. Open Your Heart is as boisterous as Lavender Diamond get. "Alright now, dance!" say the liner notes. "Don't be afraid!" Indeed, don't be - you're not likely to sprain anything. Album centrepiece Dance Until Tomorrow is a beautiful six minute plus epic dedicated to Stark's sister and the best showcase for the singer's talents, her voice nearly reaching the stratosphere at times.
One word of warning - don't listen to The Garden Rose if you're feeling emotionally fragile. The sheer beauty of the melody and pure clarity of Stark's voice will have you blubbing into your hankie in no time. And that, let's face it, could be embarrassing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Can't we all just get along?
Peace and love, so it is claimed, has been almost exclusively the property of the nineteen sixties political pop culture movement. Read more
Published on 21 Jan 2010 by HalfWit
Bloody hell this is good!
Her voice is stunning. A couple of tracks are quite anthemic - Oh No for example. It is a sort of haunting folk but with a good modern feel to it. Read more
Published on 4 Mar 2008 by R. Denyer
Definitely worth buying
I can't really add that much to what has already been said, but this is an interesting album.
Some of the songs are a little too airy-fairy, twee and lacking in... Read more
Some of the songs are a little too airy-fairy, twee and lacking in... Read more
Published on 28 Nov 2007 by Red Rob
Dont just imagine their love, revel in it.
It starts with what sounds like the drum beat to Queens "We Will Rock You" on valium .The cover has songs for you to listen ,sing , hear ( Are listen and hear the same thing? Read more
Published on 12 May 2007 by russell clarke
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