Fabulous Diamonds –Commercial Music

Allegedly earnest title aside, Commercial Music represents only a minor digression from the decidedly un-commercial Fabulous Diamonds template. As per usual, the Melbourne duo (Nisa Venerosa and Jarrod Zlatic) pair dampened, tom-heavy drum grooves with delay-heavy synth drones, layered ad infinitum. The effect can be lush, even hypnotic, but one man’s immersive experience is another’s endurance test. There are few melodies, and even fewer chord changes, and the whole thing can feel like a meandering river in search of an ocean: It just never quite gets there.

The likes of ‘John Song’ and the juddering ‘Wandering Eye’ mitigate this sense by providing vocal melodies, narrative details and rhythmic cues, which contextualise and give purpose to the rolling, narcotic waves that support them. More of this focus and less reliance on the glacial grooves would be nice, but it’s their gauzy, dissolute style that makes them what they are – and what they are is pretty unique.

7/10 stars