Reviews

Amy Diamond

Still Me, Still Now

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Review Date: 2007-01-25

Remember when you were fifteen, how life had not yet decided what it wanted to do with you and you hadn’t a care in the world? It was a time before income tax and relationship problems. When you were fifteen, everything was just….fun! These days, you have youngsters like Jojo singing about guys cheating on them, and a whole host of things normal fifteen year-olds shouldn’t have to worry about.

Amy Diamond is refreshingly different. She knows life is meant to be fun. At least when you’re young, anyway. This is a pop album, and I make no apologies for loving it so unashamedly. Sometimes you just need to forget your troubles, and just enjoy yourself.

Something else that makes this album special is the fact that Diamond is not a native English speaker. You can hear her Scandinavian accent pierce through in places on some of the tracks; and you’ll find yourself anticipating these little nuances – kind of like the way Joanna Newsom’s voice almost seems like cracking on certain sections of Ys.

This is pop at its finest: “Don’t Cry Your Heart Out” has enough “do do do”s to fill a Now That’s What I Call Music compilation. Diamond does also have moments of melancholy too. “It Can Only Get Better” is the story of someone down on their luck, hoping for a better time of it. “All the Money in the World” could be the downtrodden soundtrack to the musical Annie. Just picture her sitting there, dog in her arms, singing this and having a revelation that even though she has nothing, she’s “already rich”. “Diamonds” has a similar feel to it, saved for later, when the main character inherits some diamonds and realises that being wealthy isn’t that bad after all – people can be both wealthy and happy!

Unfortunately, an element of Jojo-syndrome seeps into the album on “Don’t Lose Any Sleep Over You”, in which the “lose” of the title pronounced “loose” in Diamond’s Swedish accent. This proves almost enough to forgive her for this clichéd anti-love song.

Diamond has her own Carpe Diem moment on “Life’s What You Make It” – an enthusiastic tale about “living every moment like it’s your last”. “No Regrets”, then, is the follow on, you’ve fucked up, but who really cares, because “everything works out for the best”. Even if you tune out of the “sure isn’t everything brilliant” lyrics, great melodies remain – like the neat guitar riff in “No Regrets” or the bouncy, tinkling piano of “Big Guns”.

The standout track, and the one that sums up the whole Amy Diamond experience, is “That’s Life” – a song I played ad-infinitum the week I got this album. Think of that scene in Forrest Gump -- “life is like a box of chocolates…” -- then transport it to a rebellious anthem of fun, and then you’ve got this song. You never know what’s going to happen, but don’t worry, ‘cause it’s all gonna turn out great in the end.

Tracks to Hear: “That’s Life”, “It Can Only Get Better”, “All The Money In The World”, and the rest of them too. Also check out “Hello” from her first album.

Score: 8.9

You miss having no worries, don’t you? Well, put this album on and forget about them all over again. Unashamedly fun.

- Ronan Hunt-Murphy