Three years on from their last, critically-acclaimed LP Perpetual Surrender, dreampop trio DIANA are now gearing up to release their sophomore effort Familiar Touch. Released on 18th November via Culvert/Ils/Caroline, the record was initially conceived as a one-off recording project, with Kieran Adams, Carmen Elle and Joseph Shabason regrouping after, as Elle puts it, “learning to be a band.” The result is an album that’s set to be more expansive and builds on the poppy dreamscapes of their debut.
Adams talked about the process of creating Familiar Touch: “There was a much different studio flow – we started working on things close to a year before we recorded them […] Last time, we were obscuring what it was that we were doing – with washed out or distorted vocals, for example. With this album – particularly with the vocals – we conceptualised everything a lot more in advance and really committed to certain sounds and feelings. We tried to fight the instinct of trying to distort it.”
The band have also shared one of the lead singles from Familiar Touch, ‘Confession,’ which sees them venturing further into mid-80’s, almost Prefab Sprout territory. Listen below.
Photo credit: Laurie Kang
