Dirty, surreal and dark – The Pink Diamond Revue never disappoint with their brand of electronic Americana and now they are back with another single – Milkshake.
My first encounter with them was at the Worcester Arts Workshop at a gig in the tunnel room. The experience was fantastic and they absolutely rocked the whole place. If you haven’t seen them live you absolutely have to. Their shows are extremely energetic, despite the lead guitarist and frontman Tim Lane hardly moving save to interact with his limbless mannequin in a way that is in equal parts loving and disturbing or to stare out menacingly at the crowd. I think Acid Dol, the name of the mannequin, is considered a member of the band – however she seems to have given her extra limbs to the drummer Rob Stock who pounds it out like an octopus on crack while simultaneously managing the electronic elements of the performance. The whole experience is usually rounded out by multicolour projections giving you that surreal 70s Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas feel.
So does this new single live up to their previous work and take me back to that sweaty tunnel room? Certainly it does. As with previous tracks there is a definite nod to the big beat and breaks stylings of the Dust Brothers and The Crystal Method from the 90s, the synths are acidic and saturated, the beats aggressive and punchy with a huge sub bass boom underneath it all. Lane’s guitar sounds both metallic and electronic and then switches to a gruff American garage sound. While it sits in the background of the mix it still somehow drives the whole energy level, lifting out those synths. The Trip Sisters have done an excellent job with the production on this one. This band is going from strength to strength, popping up with airtime on loads of podcasts and radio shows, even recently featured on Gideon Coe’s 6 Music show and gigs all over the country, and with this tune it’s hard not to see why. Punters – download this track and see them live, Promoters – book them. Neither of you will be left feeling short changed.
By: Stu McGoo (Flam and Flange)