Diana Darby -‘I V (Intravenous)’ (Delmore)
It’s probably fair to say, after several years of writing reviews that I have more than had my fill of singer-songwriters. This applies to both sexes; it’s the fact that they mostly seem to fall into the category of being bland or far too confessional, with just a handful actually having something to offer.
Thankfully, the American singer Diana Darby falls into the latter category. Comparisons that have bee
n made to Galaxie 500 and Mazzy Star are pretty accurate. In a sense -and I mean this as a compliment -it’s a fragility that is actually endearing rather than wearying. There’s a stripped down quality that really does prove the cliche of less being more.
A song like ‘If Love’, for example, may seem slight, but there’s a dark, addictive quality to it, that gradually seeps in. It may not re-write the ru
lebook, but it’s a beautiful album that doesn’t outstay its welcome, and shows the singer-songwriter genre may yet have more to offer…
***1/2
I V (Intravenous) is out now on Delmore