Single Review, Diamond, Elder Roche

The new singer songwriter Elder Roche has released his new single from his debut album No Body Knows, called Diamond. I knew nothing of him before listening to his new single and to be honest I’m not a big fan of the whole Irish singer songwriter vibe. Although this new guy on the scene may have converted one, set in his ways type of guy - because I really loved his new release.

He shows qualities of Tom Waits mixed with some kind of earthy acoustic type Bowie. His voice is particularly intriguing. His tone skips from deep to high octaves with a hoarse bass, which gives him an original signature sound.

The song starts with what sounds like rough heavy breathing, almost beat boxing in rhythm with the percussionist, Herbie Macken.Elder begins to sing and the whole outlook of the song changes. The solid use of lyrics are impressive because they string together tightly but with ease from the singer - with the tempo highlighted as the chorus enters. The chorus is catchy (not corny) and it’s then taken down for a nice display of harmonies. Elder plays guitar along with various instruments that are on the track and he is joined by his back up vocalist and guitarist Mark Shilling throughout the track.

I want to place the sound of Elder Roche as Indie rock, but I cant. I want to place it as Tom Waits, the story telling music genre - but I cant. It’s something different, something new, and its very exiting to see a new Irish talent like Elder Roche on the scene.

If you like a singer songwriter’s with a punch of rock then you’ll love this guy.

Drop-d rating: 7/10