Diva - The Glitter End

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4...according to our Brian on Thu 05 May, 2011.

If I was the bass player in Pocahaunted I'd be well pleased. Because unlike being the bass player in most bands (I.E. a quiet introverted sensitive kind or a walking penis with wanky hair) you actually get a record deal! JUST FOR BEING THE BASS PLAYER OUTTA POCA-blinking-HAUNTED!! OK, she's from L.A. and every fucker gets a deal in L.A. maaan.... What is this Diva LP like anyway? Hazy, tribal, aquatic, bloopy, tropical, scratchy & off-kilter. Somewhere between Zola Jesus, Rainbow Arabia, Sun Araw, LA Vampires & erm.... the more lolloping end of POCA-freakin'-HAUNTED maybe? You know that trippy, dubbed-out drugged-up improv groove that snakes deliriously around your conscience. The second side begins with a track that sounds like Broadcast falling out of a smoky harem before collapsing into yet more sultry, freeform whacked-out retro/DIY grooves. An hugely engaging LP indeed, but beware, this as a clear glitter vinyl pressing so if you're a complete audiophile you may find yourself grimacing a little at the sound of a tiny, invisible kitten playing with some screwed-up cellophane beneath the psychedelic melee!!

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L.A.’s sci-fi priestess is a unique talent. Los Angeles is a trip. And currently the musics emanating from this West Coast dreamland are spinning heads like no others. Diva Dompe is central to this L.A. renaissance, having founded the fabulously costumed trio BlackBlack with her sister Lola; thrown down sinewy bass grooves as a member of the sadly missed Pocahaunted and grown into a key member of the sublime L.A. Ladies Choir. Not to mention her work as an exhibiting artist, model and vegan chef of course. Busy times! The Glitter End is Diva’s first solo shot and it’s a fantastic piece of work. 80s noir rubs shoulders with vibrant tropicália and mutated pop forms in this mysterious netherworld: You could imagine these unsettling yet wonderfully warm tunes seeping from a late night house party in Mulholland Drive (a useful geographical and fictional reference point). “Glow Worm” is a case in point, as its steel drums, fuzz guitar and bubbling bass provide the perfect counterpoint for Diva’s captivating vocals. In contrast, the title track slow dances across the L.A. skyline, an analogue caress of whose lyrics the city’s mystical adventurer Jack Parsons would doubtless have approved. Leaving the stratosphere entirely, “Andromeda’s Lullaby” is a wonderfully woozy interstellar excursion, collapsing and re-emerging from waves of vintage synths. The album is interspersed with dizzying instrumentals that maintain the pace of the record beautifully. Take the tribal thump of “Spinning Vines” or the closing jangle and drift of “Highest Cloud” that leaves us driving back up to the canyons as the Sun rises. Like I said, it’s a trip, but in Diva we have a true original as our guide.

Tracklist :

1 Snake Dream, 2 Glow Worm, 3 Liquid Garden, 4 Hold Me Again, 5 Andromeda's Lullaby, 6 The Glitter End, 7 Twilight In Inquanok, 8 Crocodile Crawl, 9 Spinning Vines 10 Jazzy Cats, 11 Highest Cloud

Criticalheights said:

DIVA 'Glitter End' CD and Digital on CRITICAL HEIGHTS: www.criticalheights.com

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