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Pennsylvania-born, Florida-based Sarah Diamond has earned a fast reputation as one of the most promising powerhouse performers rising in modern music today. It is probably preordained that Diamond, with two musician parents, focused her life in the same direction, but gifts develop according to their own pace. Diamond studied classical and opera in college, so she’s far from a one-trick pony, and she inherits that wide-reaching willingness from parents who also played very different music. Her Clearwater, Florida-based band The Soul Miners provided spot-on accompaniment for Diamond’s debut single “I Got Away” and helped realize her vision again on its successor “Doin’ Whatcha Doin’”.
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The subject matter for each track could scarcely be more different. “I Got Away” concerned itself with a love affair gone bad, but “Doin’ Whatcha Doin’” provides more enjoyable fare. Produced by Roger Nichols, owner of Nashville’s Bell Tone Recording, “Doin’ Whatcha Doin’” swaggers out of the gate as a gritty pop rocker with country overtones, polished, but never too calculated. The youthful vigor Diamond brings to each line never goes overboard. Listeners hear a singer who understands the song’s needs and, most importantly, listens to the music surrounding her.
It isn’t poetry. It isn’t supposed to be. The song’s lyrics have the same professional polish and intelligence as the rest of the track. “Doin’ Whatcha Doin’” is a song about desire, never crass, but playful and curious. Some may say young desire but that misses the point. There’s universal resonance in a song such as this and the songwriting understands this. Diamond reflects the same playfulness and curiosity in her voice; attentive listeners will hear her how she ends many of the lines with a seeming wink and smile.
Nichols’ production is ideal. His clear understanding of how to best highlight Diamond and the Soul Miners and achieve an appealing modern sound is essential for “Doin’ Whatcha Doin’”. His approach shines brightest during the song’s chorus and in the way he oversees the vocals. The chorus is the song’s biggest selling point, as one always hopes is the case and the quasi-call-and-response vocals near the end put an unexpected exclamation point on the performance.
It doesn’t matter that Diamond isn’t responsible for penning the lyrics. She inhabits the song from a place of experience as well in command of considerable technique. Great singers can interpret anything provided they connect with the material and Diamond rivets the listener’s attention from the outset. It’s an audacious sophomore effort for Sarah Diamond and the Soul Miners. “Doin’ Whatcha Doin’” takes listeners in a much different direction than her debut but it is a safe bet she’ll score big with this new single.
Diamond and the Soul Miners, consisting of guitarist/vocalist JP Mooningham, guitarist/vocalist Dave Arazmo, Dave Walker on Bass, keyboard player Wes Eubanks, and drummer Jakob Dee, are playing as many shows as possible and putting in the time to further gel. There’s a boundless future ahead for the band and “Doin’ Whatcha Doin’” gives Sarah Diamond’s five-star pipes a particular chance to shine.
Jennifer Munoz
