Jacob Diamond - Yes Angel

Shortly after Jacob Diamond unassumingly self-released his first record, he found himself touring the world - first with art-pop outfit Methyl Ethel, then with singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly. Upon returning, the sharp, avant-pop songwriter moved from Perth, where he had started out at open mics on school nights, to Melbourne where he found a burgeoning scene of like-minded artists to collaborate and build confidence with. He would go on to join Camp Cope, Julia Jacklin, Courtney Barnett, Phoebe Go and Angie McMahonon stages around the country.

Now signed to Dalliance Recordings (Francis of Delirium, Gia Margaret, Highschool, lilo),Jacob is re-leasing his stunning new album Yes Angel this August. With contributions from Julia Jacklin and Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), he’s refined his expression into nine remarkable songs through three years of painstaking assembly.

A study in space, each song on Yes Angel is also a setting. Themes of self-love and discovery settle like dust over simple, beautiful performances. Of the album, Jacob says, “I set out to make something confident, intimate, beautiful and alive. I wasn’t confident I could do what I set out to do, so Yes Angel will always be meaningful to me because I did it. Making it taught me to trust my instincts. Recording the album’s most challenging song ‘ICUICRY’ with producer and Fremantle icon Brod Madden-Scott epitomised this change in me: the song meanders and has a poem in the middle (or a ‘Ted Talk’, as Brod called it) so it needed a delicate touch, but I did what I have the tendency to do and went big. It had a big finish that was almost insecure - as if the song wasn’t enough without a show-stopping finale. But after version 38 or whatever, Brod sent through a mix with a note attached: ‘I just stripped it all back’. It was perfect. Nothing fussy. I immediately knew it was right because I trusted the relief and joy I felt. The song was enough exactly as it was and, as its author, I too was enough. This trust guided the rest of the process.

”Reminiscent of Arthur Russell and Vini Reilly, Jacob’s singular voice and sparse guitar stylings give ache, shape and atmosphere to his songs, allowing tinges of synth and drum machine to push through like flecks of light at their edges. Yes Angel excitingly feels both intimate and alien, perhaps due to being recorded as close to home as Fremantle and as faraway as Joshua Tree. Either way, it stands as a testament to the value of continuing to search for your own voice. Featuring singles ‘New Museum’, ‘Bay of Fleas’ and ‘That Meant The World To Me’, Yes Angel is a revelation. When you allow this music to take you with it, it settles into the heart.