Interview: Diane Birch Rises Up

Diane Birch's album 'Bible Belt' is an instant classic

by Adam SweetingThursday, 06 May 2010

Diane Birch, a singer-songwriter with a classical and gospel bent

It's probably a bit early to start picking the best albums of 2010, but I would seriously consider a legal challenge if Diane Birch's Bible Belt isn't there or thereabouts when the votes are counted. Like a long-lost singer-songwriter classic, it accomplishes the trick of sounding instantly familiar, yet Birch herself doesn't sound quite like any other artist you've heard before. Her voice can be soft and supple, but it also has a raw, rasping quality that can saw through a song like "Choo Choo", with its vamping organ and garage-band guitars. By contrast, in the hymn-like "Forgiveness" she sails up to a top note that could bring Airedales and Labradors running from miles around.

There was a lot more interest in London than there was in LA

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