Diamonds, the eighth album from Toronto’s The Birthday Massacre, is a blissful slab of elegantly executed Electro that’s sure to be an exquisite listening experience for all the earholes.
From the thumping beats blanketed by a shimmering sheen of synths, “Enter” is an immediate new anthem from these Electro masters and will have listeners on their feet dancing like no one’s watching the moment it starts. Rainbow and Owen’s programming and keys respectively shine bright on “The Sky Will Turn” as they create this all enveloping world and Chibi leads the proceedings with her diverse vocal range and these Roland Orzabel-style guitar lines from M. Falcore (And Rainbow) scream to the heavens.
The title track has an ominous dystopian feel that Replicant has become synonymous with recently but driven by Chibi’s voice, “Diamonds” excels because of that light shining through the dark with Rhim’s propulsive drums providing the thunder underneath.
Meanwhile, “Run” is built on an inherent groove thanks in part to Nate Manor’s bass with New Wave tendencies that’d easily sound at home on any Julien-K release and later, “Flashback” is an intricately dense masterclass in Electro perfection with Chibi’s enchanting voice weaving a tale throughout the sonic tapestry created around her.
If Ladytron ever embraced Goth then “The Last Goodbye” might be the kind of bold and beautiful dark masterpiece they’d produce with its’ driving beats and grand glimmering synths accenting Chibi’s haunting delivery. “Crush” treads Trip-Hop territory with Chibi channeling equal parts Elizabeth Fraser and Bjork at times while “Mirrors” is akin to a throwback of TBM’s earlier sound with the way this grinding wall of sound comes at listeners. Concluding with “Parallel World”, The Birthday Massacre wrap up their eighth full-length with a lush, atmospheric soundscape that’s equally massive as it is mesmerizing.
Diamonds is out through the one and only Metropolis Records on March 27th. Pre-orders are live now and can be purchased by clicking here or here. For more on The Birthday Massacre, follow them on the interwebs by clicking here or here.