In the past few years, there has been an influx of electropop artists, or at least the public’s awareness of them. The chillwave subgenre has experienced a mounding increase of artists. Retrospectively looking out from the mountaintop of the proverbial chillwave artists from the past few years, you can’t help but realize there was some real gold in them hills. In their early material, artists like Toro Y Moi and Neon Indian modestly layered straightforward pop melodies over lo-fi beats. They subsequently ascended to produce successful follow-up records, which were largely based on their bold and somewhat surprising, integration of live instruments. After proving they actually had musical talent, it put to rest any inkling of them being strictly button-pushers.
In the same vein is Diamond Messages, the UK-based brainchild of Jason Craig and Katelyn Britton. In the beginning of their career, they released infusions of downtempo beats with acoustical charm which yielded blissful imagery, with their under-the-radar EP Smoke and Mirrors. With standouts like Liquid Summer the EP was truly a tease of bigger things to come. And sure enough, fast forward to now and look how they’ve evolved. Their newest single, You Were the One, throws a welcome curveball to their fans in a way similar to the aforementioned artists. This time around, there are multiple elements to swoon over. Diamond Messages create a vintage soundscape in You Were the One with vinyl sound effects galore. With indie pop vocalist Stefalloo (pictured above) on board, her voice expresses longing that’s so sincere and personal you’d think she was singing right to you. The jukebox-R&B drums provide the beating, yearning heart of the song. It’s rare to have such an upbeat and groovy mood ascribed to the “one” that got away, and the contrast of the lyrics and the instrumentation fare extremely well.
After hearing this track, it’s hard not to be thrilled about the direction they are headed. Shine on, you crazy Diamond Messages.