Fabulous Diamonds’ musical processes reference traditional dub music like Augustus Pablo or Prince Buster: they weave varied, yet simplistic layers in and out with a shit-ton of reverb on each. Nowadays, this dub sound is considered good music to "chill out to," with these once tropical vibes having morphed considerably over time, lurking an astral plane with visions of topaz as big as your fist, taxidermied tigers, acid casualties, urban wastelands, and cemeteries. Their reverb wafts upwards in ghostly shapes rather than blissed-out purple puffs.
Like fellow new Siltbreeze label mates Naked On The Vague, the lo-fi found on Seven Songs, Fabulous Diamonds' debut album, is born out of an Australian DIY scene, with an emphasis on the discordant, no-wave strands of noise that generally boast a gritty euphoria. Of course, like these and the older sounds that they echo (so Rough Trade circa 1979), they eschew melody in favor of a dirtier aesthetic while emphasizing repetition to great effect. Slow-burning track two, for instance, surprises half way in after haunted organ melodies blast in over crunched/looped drum machine claps (the closest they’ll get to a chorus), with the sax-and-organ melody counterbalanced with Nisa Venerosa’s eerie, deadpan vocals.
For all the primitivist beats and tribal nods, however, Fabulous Diamonds come off more futuristic than vintage dub here. Seven Songs is recorded analogue on half-inch reel-to-reel, soaked in some shiny ghostly acid vishisoire. Their primitivism is not only in their approach, but also in their aesthetics, often plodding along with tinny beats or basic percussion. Building these spooky vibes out of DIY materials such as broken organs and homemade echo-machines, they explore the different uses of delay and reverb with an astonishingly minimal set-up, which only serves to stretch out its sparseness. It’s all fairly simplistic, but try putting this on the record player with a dubois, beanbag, and beaded curtains, because even if it won’t take you on the warmest trip, it’s positively hypnotic.
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