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New England Music News

Diamond Sharp

The Sharp are dead. Long live the Sharp.

Diamond Sharp’s mutating line-up hit gene-pool pay dirt with the band’s tightest display of musicianship ever for this unfortunate final show. We don’t, however, believe a word of it. With frontman Jason Rogers’s knack for finding the best backup for his perfectly remiss pop songs, it is hopefully inevitable the band will be reborn.

Jay Lobley of Cult Maze offered his bass prowess, which, combined with departing drummer Joe Brown (we had no idea he was so good!), created an intense rhythm section perfect for the frustrated ferocity that’s been developing out of the band’s irony-laden pop origins. Derek Lobley’s stoic presence on keyboards provides a density needed to ground Rogers’s lashing guitar, increasingly more British Invasion than college rock.

Rogers’s lyrics frequently refer to death as an end-all, be-all that puts our little problems into perspective. Well, there’s a strong association with death and metamorphosis. You’ve got to die a little bit to change. Judging from Diamond Sharp’s newer songs, a resurrection for the band will mean less self-pity and more rock, angrier and wise enough to know that the love you need is around in your own damn hometown. Check out “The Love You Need” on the band’s MySpace page to fill your heart with hope for more Diamond Sharp in the future.

On the Web
Diamond Sharp: myspace.com/diamondsharp