Customer Reviews

Out of Myself

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't let Track 1 fool you, this is a full-on pop album crafted with the highest regard for 70s melody and accessibility. Track 2 introduces you to the sound that will carry the weight of the album. A incredibly listenable effort from start-to-finish, you'd never know this was the same "Ooooooh, baby" voice of Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You". Top cuts are "Let's Get High", "Lights In The Sky", "I Wish", "Give Me The Grace", and "These Emotions". Lyrics are a decent effort -- considering the French origins -- but you will not stop singing along with all of these tracks. A huge improvement from the Diamond's first solo effort, "Strange Attitude". Search for this guy on MySpace, he occasionally will post free tracks from this CD.

Benjamin Diamond continues to step out of the shadow of his most famous project, Stardust. On OUT OF MYSELF, he invests himself in guitar pop, rather than disco house, with admirable results. But in an already crowded field, can he distinguish himself? Not surprisingly enough, the tracks that integrate electronic elements are the ones that stand out: "Let's Get High" is appropriately blissful, and "These Emotions" manages to overcome its own cliché. "Sun is Shining" has that perkiness that makes it immediately catchy--it almost could have come off Diamond's first album, STRANGE ATTITUDE. ("No One Knows" is not as lucky, however, even as it swings into house tempo.) But Diamond also has a chance to show off his knack at songwriting--"Give Me the Grace" wears its swooning romanticism on its sleeve, while "Out of Myself" is pure power pop. "She's Away" enhances the acoustic guitar with slight electronic tweaks. A step in the right direction, even if there are minor stumbles along the way.

I borrowed this cd from a friend and couldn't get it out of my cd player. It's a mellow cd with great melodies, strong arrangements, and lyrics with substance that aren't too pretentious. Think John Mayer, Coldplay, Travis, and a bit of Everything But the Girl throw together in no particular order. It was surprising that no one has ever heard of him with the exception of a side project he did with Stardust on 'The music sounds better with you...'.

It's rare for an album to come along that you can throw in and listen to all the way through, but this one passes the test for me that cd's like Joshua Tree, Parachutes, Room for Squares, and White Ladder have passed.