Diamond Days at E.V.A.C, Liverpool, May 2015. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
A change of scene is all it takes to get the full bloodied effect of what a band is capable of saying. Not just capable, but with style and accomplished grace, with passion and drive and the sweet serenade of a smile majestically raised to the heavens. The change is so palpable that it really makes the listener fully endorse the group as just oozing awesome from out of their collective shell.
Nine months is long time, so much can happen, humanity is built on such arrangements after all. For Diamond Days nine months is all that is has taken to build upon their performance at Studio 2 in 2014, and with the benefit of a venue more suited to the gritty Rock anthems and indie sound, to knock down the doors of first impressions and demand squarely in the face that you truly listen, both ears, full attention and yet at all times with a smile on the face so wide and disarmingly honest that you begin to wonder where all the coat hangers went.
Diamond Days are relentless in their approach, they have combined as even tighter, more cohesive unit and for fans this is utterly tremendous. To understand that they were good before but perhaps hampered by a system that was not suited to their demeanour is one thing, to stand and watch as they pound at the senses as if Iron Man was taking on five Hulks, that is a completely different matter, for as they performed their set at the East Village Arts Centre, there was only one concern, that falling in love is a hard battle to shake off, but then again why would you want that to happen.
The set consisted of songs such as We Are Young, Let Go, the sublime new song Just Dance, Home and the excellent I Rewind, songs that were designed to rage, rock and rebel in equal measure; songs in which to smile, clasp hands with your own personal deity and mention down her ear, that she was right, that time makes all the difference, time and a stage fit to hold an expanse of sound that Diamond Days offer.
It’s good to be wrong, even if it’s only by a margin of error and in Diamond Days, the slight they may have felt at one time by audiences has been erased and hopefully put right, not to be missed at all.
Diamond Days return to Liverpool on May 13th in support to Fearless Vampire Killers at the 02 Academy.
Ian D. Hall