Together and apart, the members of Diamondtown have decades of experience in the fertile underground rock scene of Nova Scotia, Canada.

Alumni of Eric’s Trip, Dog Day, Century Egg, and countless other bands have now formed like a flannel-clad Voltron. On their self-titled album and its accompanying 7” lathe, the group fuses influences from ’80s goth and shoegaze with ’60s psychedelic pop for a melancholy, sun-bleached sound they call “dream-rock.”

Diamondtown will be releasing their self-titled debut album on October 28th via Canadian Label Obscura.

Diamondtown initially began as the duo of KC Spidle and Evan Cardwell, a pair of prolific DIY lifers who have previously collaborated as Husband & Knife. As they began exploring folkier territory near the end of that project, Cardwell introduced a 12-string electric guitar to his stable of instruments, and they decided to switch gears. The name Diamondtown came to Spidle in a dream, and with their otherworldly sound in mind, it stuck.

In their live debut opening for The Sadies, Spidle and Cardwell were accompanied only by a drum machine. Its sputtering pulse was perfect for their initial purposes, but as they became more ambitious in their musical arrangements, it was time for the band to grow. Eric’s Trip member Chris Thompson first rounded out Diamondtown as a trio. Thompson was then joined by Kate O’Neill, a fellow collaborator in his project Moon Socket, on keyboards and auxiliary percussion. Finally, the quintet was completed by Meg Yoshida, one of the busiest drummers in Halifax, whose metronomic playing could easily be mistaken for a rhythm box.

The ten 10 songs on Diamondtown drift by like mellow waves lapping against the shore. Though the band always intended to record the album quickly, the arrival of the pandemic in early 2020 forced them to speed up their sessions to two days in Thompson’s basement studio. As they completed its overdubs in isolation during lockdown, Spidle realized that the words he had written for these songs proved to be eerily prophetic.

“After I wrote the lyrics it started to feel like I was describing what’s happening now, but that was all done before,” Spidle explains. “It’s about finding hope through impending doom, being scared of what’s going on outside, and trying to hide. Of course there are other things in there as well. I just like creating dreamy lyrics so people can interpret them as they will.”

Big Takeover is pleased to host the premiere of the engaging performance music video of the hazy and dazed “Dream All Day.”

The dreamily copacetic psych-folk-popper glistens with sparkling guitar chime, a brighter patter of ticking cymbals and tambourine hits, subdued drumming, low-key bass line, and softly sung, lulling vocals that have Spidle admitting he has no idea, “whether I’m coming or going.”

Spidle kindly replies to some interview Qs that were sent his way:

What inspired “Dream All Day”? Is there a specific message or meaning?

“It’s a simple song about wondering aimlessly through life in a daze instead of facing your problems and actually getting your shit together. Just trying create a mood that is both sad yet comforting. Even though the song is written from a personal standpoint I think many can relate to the message of this song.”

Was there a unique aspect of the songwriting or recording process?

“Recording was weird. The pandemic shut us down just as we were getting going. {But] the record turned out the way we wanted despite not being able to be in the same room for most of it.”

What was the experience like of making your album?

“Creating this album was interesting because there were more layers and textures at play in the mix then in previous projects we’ve recorded. Finding space in our recording for all these elements and keeping a level of clarity was a fun challenge, but I think we achieved our goal and certainly learned a lot about what our band is about sonically.”

How do you consider this track in the context of your sound’s evolution?

““Dream All Day” is a good representation of how we like to ride out a hazy and repetitive progression and not veer off too much but yet find an accessible pop structure within the repetition.”

Do you have a favorite lyric from this track that you’d like to highlight? Why is that significant to you?

“The lyric “Always trying to find a way to connect / somehow tend to fall behind whatever’s current / guess I’m older now.” I guess this line isn’t hard to grasp, but I definitely feel this way. It’s easy to stay in your comfort zone and let your world become smaller, but it’s good to keep your mind open to everything that’s going on, especially if you hope to make relevant music. Listening to Neil young and Fleetwood Mac all the time is sweet, but there is a lot of a great new music and art out there to explore.”

What do you want people to take away from your album?

“We just hope it’s an album people can get lost in. Its not meant to be overly adverse, but more welcoming and possibly uplifting.”

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