NY rock quartet conjures a blast from the past
By Joe Hooten
Scene: A Friday night, Firebirds and Camaros fill a Main Street parking lot after the big high school football game, teenagers are mingling and celebrating human nature, speakers are pumping a thunderous noise. A distinctively 70s-era riff rumbles in the crisp evening air with vocals that seem as if Manfred Mann, Billy Idol, and Sly Stallone had control of a microphone at the same time. Kids begin to hoot and holler as the song comes to an end. There’s an obvious affinity for the music. This isn’t a scene from “Dazed and Confused,” this is the mental picture provoked by the music from the retro-rock band, Diamond Nights.
Once We Were Diamonds is the recently released EP from the Diamond Nights, a 4-piece group hailing from Queens, N.Y. Formed in 2003 by longtime buds Morgan Phalen and Tim Traynor, the duo began writing songs fueled by a passion for all things 70s. The 5-song romp embraces what was golden during an era of horrible fashion statements, disco, and at the same time the arrival of punk music. The influences are heavy on Ozzy, Van Halen, Thin Lizzy, and Cheap Trick, which dominate the catalog of songs produced by the young lads who were probably too young to have experienced the music they have copied while adding their own palm-muting power chord way of jamming.
Almost every song I hear on this EP could easily be an FM radio single, although it would be more appropriate on an old AM classic rock station somewhere in the Midwest. The first song, “Destination Diamonds,” begins with a thick guitar riff and a tight rhythmic chord change that is as infectious as it is catchy. The first line grabs you, “Never met another girl that tastes like a plum like the way you do.” The chorus that comes next is a bit of a let down, “Baby, do you like to mess around?” Hmmm ... what woman doesn’t after being compared to a petite purple fruit?
If this is the height of poetic teenage love songs, then the Diamond Nights need to re-examine their clever writing skills on their next album. Fortunately, the EP and the recently released full-length album Popsicle are playful and enjoyable in short bursts. Talented and full of raw energy, the Diamond Nights retro-rock act is sure to develop on their freshman efforts and build a sturdy bridge from the past to the future.
Diamond Nights
Album: Once We Were Diamonds (EP)
Label: Kemado Records
2.5 out of 5
