JERK004 - FABULOUS DIAMONDS DUAL 7"+CD
Fabulous Diamonds are the Melbourne based hypnotic acid-dub duo of Nisa Venerosa and Jarrod Zlatic. Their debut delivers a five track psychedelic exploration, caputuring a lush sound composed of inconsistent drumming, entrancing electric organ, piano, wonky saxophone and Venerosa's stricking vocal call. This trip is consumed by swelling infinity delay effects while maintaining a sense of minimalism. Maybe the missing link between Terry Riley and Beat Happening? Limited to 500 7", packaged with a CD and co-released by Mistletone.
Reviews...
Z-GUN BLOG
Wrapped in an especially beautiful and enigmatic package, the debut from this Australian duo is a mesmerizing albeit brief foray into the grey interzone of dubby post-punk. The modernist arrangement of a cymbal-less drum kit and sax (and the occasional touch of keys) - sounds complex without being too complicated, a more sleeker and meditative vision of Essential Logic. Fab Diamonds are bound to get compared to Blues Control and, though there are some obvious similarities (coed duo, heavy on the delay), this stuff never spins into heaviness. This EP is a compelling exercise of "less is more," creating enough space amidst the noise to disguise itself as accessible or easy-to-get-at, which couldn't be farther from the truth. Highly recommended, but I have a hunch that this is only a hint of their incredible potential. -SW
DUSTED - STILL SINGLE
Australian avant-pop duo with a strong concept of their own sound and the leeway they have to roam within it. Sounds a bit like something that might have been on Crammed Discs back in the '80s; patient, tamarind-flavored untitled pieces that tie together dub, "world soundclash" and mannered art-schoolisms into an affected, stylized end product that initially comes off so slight as to not register. A few listens, though, and you'll find the requisite handholds to scale this material. The vocals come off in that sort of new animal sort of way that Ari Up used to remember how to deliver before her mind succumbed to tropical heat and ganj blastage. If they're the modern-day equivalent of the People in Control, I'll take that; if they're the careful, polished answer to the myriad questions asked by Blues Control, I'll take that too. Forthcoming efforts in the hands of Siltbreeze, so here's your ground level entry.
THREE THOUSAND
Fabulous Diamonds make avant garde music humbly disguised as pop minimalism. A counterpoint to all card-carrying local 'art' groups, this restlessly inventive Melbourne duo is without doubt the genuine article; truly experimental, defiant of glib categorisation, advanced and yet totally stoned-sounding. Split published by new labels Mistletone and Nervous Jerk, this highly anticipated debut 7" is ten glorious minutes of rhythmic disorientation, concrete tones and glowing wormwood dub – all doused in so much delay as to sound like ink absorbing into blotting paper.
Like a set of lab experiments, the tracks are named simply by their duration. Side A has two woozy, singing affairs on it; the nocturnal crawler, '1:49' (known as 'Whiskey Soda' by fans), and the 'Tattoo on breadknives' one (also a live favourite). It is an edge-of-midnight sound with buggy sax, enchanting voice and stroboscopic organ. Side B has a bright vox acapella, delayed sax over echoey cowbells and jazzy piano smoking rocks of white. Yep - it' pretty high stuff, and the last track is a sound collage. As important now as Melbourne's Little Bands were in the '70s, or as good as Implog in the '80s. (Mark Gomes - Barrage)
MESS+NOISE MAY/JUNE 07:
Borne out of a tradition that lies somewhere between classic dub, experimentalism and post punk, Fabulous Diamonds foreground a style (unique) and substance (intriguing) that come together in a hypnotic frenzy. Assembled amidst high levels of delay, this Melbourne two-piece creates a truly bewildering mix. On the melody side of things Zlatic brings the unconventional approach practiced in his previous musical happenings (Oh! Belgium) to both the saxophone and chording of electric organ exhibited here, creating a sound that sits awkwardly with Nisa Venerosa's elegant vocals.
It's an awkwardness that befits the duo, constructing a compelling, evolving array of sounds to match its audience (likewise compelled). Coupled with unrelenting and creative percussion, Fabulous Diamonds are ultimately a band who capitalise on idiosyncrasy. '1:52' opens with trademark FabD: a repetitively entrancing rhythm that persists throughout the meet n' greet of sustained saxophone, sporadic piano and Venerosa's enthralling vocals. It's the hit you've been waiting for throughout this post post-punk mêlée we live in. Fabulous Diamonds present a world drenched in discordant jams stemming from a parallel universe of sonic intensity, one that picks up on the heritage embedded in post-punk, but recreates rather than rehashes the influence. From a debut, who could ask for anything else? (Eliza Sarlos)
DAZED AND CONFUSED
Melbourne dub-heavy twosome Fabulous Diamonds debut with this vinyl offering of five sparse and nameless musings. Nisa Venerosa's simple drumming and fragile Australian twang neatly completment Jarrod Zlatic's delay-drenched saxophone and organ, and although not recorded to best effect, the result is strangely, eerily compelling.