Montreal-native, Sara Diamond immediately captures your attention and pulls at your heartstrings with the release of her second studio album, IDK. Best known for singing the American and Canadian national anthem for the Montreal Canadians during the 2013 NHL season, Diamond is establishing her name in the pop-industry with her new album, released two years after her first studio album, Foreword.
What I Like:
Laden with heartbreak and nostalgia, IDK is a slow, emotional, pop album that immediately entrances you in the story put forth by Diamond. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of every song of the album, I really enjoyed three songs: "Glass of Whiskey", "Sunday", and "Moment".
The opening track on the album, "Glass of Whiskey" features a simple guitar riff that brings to mind the song "Dark Times" by The Weeknd and Ed Sheeran. Edging more on the pop-rock side, this song paints a vivid picture of starting a new relationship, only to question of whether it meant anything. With lyrics like, "Oh, we tear down our defenses/Learning now that all we know/Is all of nothing", Diamond brings to mind the question of whether the relationship is love or not.
"Sunday" is one of the faster paced songs on the album, and tells the story of lost innocence. Featuring a simple drum beat and piano notes in the background, Diamond sings about two childhood friends that grow old and slowly begin to lose touch with one another. "Then the days got cold/And we turned into the sinners" Diamond sings, portraying the shift from childhood happiness to growing older and becoming exposed to the harsh realities of the world.
Out of the seven tracks, the final track, "Moment", conveys the emotions and feelings of heartbreak that Diamond wanted to come across in her album. Slow-paced, with the piano as the focal instrument, "Moment" concludes the album on a sad-note. "I loved you for a moment/For a moment I wasn't broken" Diamond belts out, describing her pain and heartache.
What I Didn't Like:
IDK is an album filled with sentimentally and raw emotion, which I truly enjoyed listening to. However, I felt that some songs did not flow smoothly, with choruses being too aggressive when related to their accompanying verses. This was definitely the case for "Nov 16th" and "Baby" which I felt lacked a strong bridge between the verses and chorus. When compared to Foreword, I felt that this album faltered in developing interesting instrumentals, and as a result, felt too repetitive.
Overall Thoughts:
Overall, I really enjoyed listening to multiple songs on the album. The lyrics are raw and filled with heartache, instantly capturing your attention. However, I felt that the album lacked compelling beats that could have added to the production of the song. For these reasons, my overall score for the album is