Music We Love: Danny Diamonds new album 'JV'

Last month Daniel Rush Folmer and his band that comprise Danny Diamonds released their second studio album, JV. Danny Diamonds are paragons of craftsmanship, rulers of good-taste. Their latest album is nothing short of a preeminent piece of art.

 The band went out to San Francisco to record with John Vanderslice at Tiny Telephone, an analogue recording studio established in 1997. Vanderslice has produced albums for St. Vincent, The Mountain Goats, and Spoon in this studio. Additionally, bands like Death Cab for Cutie, The Magnetic Fields, and Deerhoof have recorded at Tiny Telephone.

“I have been a fan of JV’s and have visited with him at shows for the past 12 years, bringing him DJ Screw tapes and/or various necessary tour nefariousness,” Folmer says. “I was finally able to scrounge the cash to record a full length at the completely analogue Tiny Telephone studio in San Francisco.”

Last week, Folmer & his band made their way back out to San Francisco for ten days to record another album that will be released later this year. Folmer believes that their new album will top JV, to which I say put the music where your mouth is.

JV is a twelve track album that chock full of smart lyrics and beautiful twangy additions, like steel guitar riffs. At times throughout the album, Folmer’s voice is remnant of a younger Jeff Tweedy.

The final song on JV is titled “Will You Ever Learn???,” and begins with the following lyrics:

Will you ever learn to let a good thing be
Will you ever learn to let a good thing be
WIll you ever learn to let a good thing be
Seeds of love can’t grow in fields of misery

Throughout the song, there is an underlying sense of grief, where Folmer sings “fall if you want to, my child if you ever learn to let a good thing be.” With a heavily worded, hymnal-esque tone, the song is released and the album is finished.

A lovely listen-through, JV is definitely at the top of my list as far as new local music goes for 2016.