Diane Birch Show Review

Diane Birch has been described as being the latest addition to the influx of the blue-eyed-soul girls. But, aside from being a US citizen, she differs from the key players in some fundamental ways.

Birch doesn’t have the brash pomp of Amy Winehouse, the glaring facileness of Duffy, or the overproduced glossiness of Gabriella Cilmi. Also, Birch is not raspy-voiced. When compared to contemporary artists, Diane’s mesmerizing and rich yet smoothly mellow tonal quality is most similar to that of Norah Jones.

Unlike the style of Winehouse, Duffy, Cilmi, or Adele, Diane Birch has an earthy sound with an undercurrent of warm folk running through the entirety her music.

So when trying to pinpoint Birch’s musical predecessors, instead of initially conjuring up images of the soul divas like Etta James and Nina Simone, Birch’s poppy piano tunes and lyrical prowess (she wrote all of the lyrics and music on her album) are more readily comparable to the stylings of Carly Simon and especially Carole King.

Furthermore, Diane Birch’s appearance is a conundrum of sorts. If one wasn’t already familiar with her music, upon spotting her at her World Café Live upstairs show this past Sunday, it would be difficult of what to make of her at first glance. Her black fedora and matching black spandex gave off an air of indie hipster, while her flowing peasant top was that of an earthy granola chic. With her baby face, big brown Bambi eyes, and long dark with bangs à la Jane Birkin, the twenty-six year old barely looked eighteen. The thin willowy wisp of a woman appeared like she would have as much trouble standing up against a five mile per hour wind gust as she would with belting out a soulful roar deep from within her tiny diaphragm.



Yet Diane Birch is neither indie hipster nor granola chic. And she is neither a teeny bopper idol nor a vocal lightweight. Diane Birch is a very talented up-and-coming piano-and-Fender-Rhodes-playing singer-songwriter who might just be on the verge of major success.

On Sunday evening in Philadelphia, Diane Birch gave a respectable performance in promotion of her freshman album Bible Belt. Without introduction, she took the stage alongside her four other band members (including a guitarist, bassist, trumpeter, and drummer) and dove right into “Forgiveness,” a song about triumphantly getting over a break-up. Gradually building in tempo and energy, what Birch started with a soft and feathery whisper she concluded with a display of her impressive vocal ability to a beguiled audience.

After saying a brief hello and mentioning that she was happy to be in Philadelphia, she performed “Ariel,” a slower number where she questions the fate of her relationship while her lover travels overseas. After that Diane picked things up with “Choo choo.”

Although Diane’s voice undoubtedly contains soulful overtures, she isn’t just a soul artist, and as aforementioned, she shouldn’t even be considered as primarily a soul artist. At least not in the way Roberta Flack or Minnie Riperton or even Amy Winehouse or Adele could – with the exception of “Choo choo.”

As the daughter of a preacher, it perhaps is not a huge surprise that some of Birch’s songs have a twinge of gospel to them, very noticably in “Choo choo.” With back-up vocals on the CD by 70’s R&B legend Betty Wright (who produced Joss Stone, and who along with Steve Greenberg is also the co-producer of the album) and with organic instrumentation (not a single computerized sound or drum beat on the entire album), the song is a throwback to old school Southern soul. When performed live, the guitarist, trumpeter, and bassist (who gave vocal support in varying degrees throughout most of the night) provided a pleasant background for this song. But this vocal combination didn’t have quite the soul authenticity as it does on the album with Betty Wright’s support. Nonetheless, it was still an enjoyable and engaging performance of the song.

Next on tap was Birch’s first single, “Nothing But a Miracle,” a soul-baring mid-tempo song lamenting lost love. After a hearty applause, Diane seemed to open up a bit more to the audience. Not that she was exactly timid or reserved to this point, but she wasn’t really talkative or revealing either.

Birch divulged the origination of the curfew-breaking story behind “Don’t Wait Up,” which on the recorded version with its robust organ, prominent horn line, and deep background vocals is the album’s most gospel-like track. To the crowd’s disbelief and amusement, the fresh-faced performer explained that when she was a teenager she was a “goth chic” complete with heavy black make-up, much to the chagrin of her pastor father. In the chorus she warns her father, "Oh oh, don’t wait up for me, ooh ooh, ‘cause you ain’t gonna like what you see.”

After a couple of her slower paced and more introspective songs, and after making the crowd laugh once more when stating the “Fools” was directed at the people in L.A., Diane again picked things back up with “Valentino.” The audience clapped along to the beat, and at the bridge, the guitarist and trumpeter each showed off their chops with an impressive solo.



Closing the set with her only cover of the night, Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How it Feels,” the show seemed to end far too quickly. Luckily, Diane and the band treated the audience with an encore of “Photograph,” a song similar in structure to the show’s opener “Forgiveness.” Starting off slowly and demonstrating the nuances of her emotional voice, Birch then concluded her performance by putting everything she had into her last soulful belt of the night.

And for anyone who enjoys piano-folk with a soulful belt, Diane Birch’s Bible Belt is a shoo-in.

* Catch Diane Birch live on Late Show with David Letterman tonight (July 22nd) and next Friday (July 31st) on Jimmy Kimmel Live.