All His Songs

Moronic and douchy behavior seems to be the standard nowadays. And it’s mostly the people who call every band that seems different or they haven’t heard of a hipster hence douche band. (Yes, we know hating hipsters is cool now and, guess what, this makes you cool… hence a hipster) Sadly, Toronto-native John O’Regan, better known as Diamond Rings, is bound to get the same treatment. With his blond Vanilla Ice-like coif, rainbow eye make-up, choreographed Gaga-like videos and words like “highly anticipated” used by the whole of the blogosphere, he does seem like an easy pray.

Luckily, for the rest of us, he is in fact just a very creative artist who is not afraid to explore and experiment. Irony, pastiche and all things concerning postmodernism aside, his love for 80’s new-wave and 90’s techno beats, his nostalgia for all things neon-coloured and all glittery eyeliner, his Ian McCulloch-scented voice are all beautifully entangled on his “long awaited” (yes, I did) debut, Special Affection.

While O’Regan might put up a mask in his videos, his lyrics are like a bleeding heart. When he said the writing the words to his songs is his favourite part, he sure wasn’t lying. They do tie up the album wonderfully. It’s all about one big catharsis, a stand for independence (and sometimes he sounds like a woman trying to break free from all conventions), all wrapped in the album finale All Yr Songs. “I’ve been bad and mean to you, but you right my wrongs/ I do try, you know I love to sing all your songs” he muses as he finally says it loud and clear that it was all about needing someone who hurts and is hurt by him.

His songs are built on a great simplicity: he uses pretty much the same two drum-patterns, some synth work and a lot of his heavy voice. But what makes him finger-licking is the shamelessness with which he creates one infectious POP song after the other out of so little. Glitter, smeared makeup and no apologies. And while it’s all just the extension of one Bowie-esque flamboyant persona, he spreads his wings more than once. The intro, Play By Heart, creates strange goth layers thanks to its piano and soaring vocals. He dwells in cheerleading chanting like on Give It Up. The cinematic It’s Not My Party uses heavy distorts to build up a wonderful tension before the ‘show it all’ last track. And, while Show Me Your Stuff is not on the album, You Oughta Know fills in the shoes of the hard-glittered new wave song just wonderfully.

Sure, most songs have been around since 2009. But this does not take away any bit of the album’s greatness. And, if it was necessary to say it anymore, Special Affections with all its RESPECT ME vibe is a wonderful almost 10/10 pop gem, melodies sparkling with a force that laughs hard in the face of all douchebags who think he is nothing more but a poser.