The Alvarez Theory – The Alvarez Theory
Self Released – 24 May 2019
The Alvarez Theory is a London-based band that revolves around the songs of German/Spanish-born singer-songwriter Diana (Dee) Diehl. However, the band’s eponymous debut release has been a long time in coming – for it was originally started as a solo project by Dee herself a few years ago in Bremen (where she had been supporting various British bands and singers). It would seem that the songs only gradually gained their haunting demeanour and special atmosphere as the band dynamic evolved over the years.
For in the band setup, Dee’s songs are encased within a tellingly sparse-textured musical landscape. This is built around Dee’s guitar, with perfectly judged backdrops involving Julia O’Hanlon (fiddle, concertina, vocals), Mark Patterson (mandolin, banjo, guitar) and Sarah Louise Bates (bass, vocals). A handful of other musicians also play sporadically on the album, principally Dan Latham (drums) and Nick Harris (organ). They also now have a drummer, Flo Miller, who presumably joined the band since recording the album. Interestingly, the album was recorded over the course of just ten days at Nick Harris’s Spareroom recording studio in north London, and the performances have an attractively close, intimate, immediate feel.
Anyway, back to the songs. The best (and quite possibly clearest) description of these, and indeed of the band’s environment and sensibility, does in fact appear on the band’s website. The listener is promised: “tales of small-town heroes, barflies & gunslingers, the Heartbreakers & heartbroken, the toilers, gamblers & drifters, forlorn in the city or crossing the seas”. And sure, that sums things up brilliantly. The songs have strong thematic and musical roots in classic country and Americana, then, but also a keen kinship with the lyrical American ballad traditions where the ideals and processes of travelling also provide a central theme. For instance, the album’s first single, By The River (the accompanying video premiered on Folk Radio UK here), is a potent opening gambit, and its moody aura encapsulates the emotional state of the lamenting, regretful protagonist. Importantly, although loss and lament may be Dee’s stock-in-trade, her songs aren’t depressing, and their pared-down honesty is cathartic.
Dee’s own gently phrased singing style is the ideal vehicle for this, with its softly weary, lived-in yet resilient quality proving quite mesmeric and involving. Harmonies from various band members are occasional and very sparing, and all the better for that. Each of the album’s ten songs is a perfect little jewel.
Album Launch: Green Note – Friday 24th May
www.greennote.co.uk/production/the-alvarez-theory/
More here: https://www.thealvareztheory.co.uk/