Edweena Banger – Diamond Rocks

This is the second solo full length outing from Wythenshawe’s ‘Trans Revolutionary Freedom Fighter’ and it charts the continuing story of Diamond, a trans escort who rises to cult status on the rock circuit. Experienced as a narrative, this album makes sense. It is not a work of musical innovation but a connected series of moments that dips and swerves genres in the way you would expect a musical to do. Prevalent, of course, is the strong vein of glam rock influences that have informed Edweena‘s work from the beginning, back before the hazy days of that initial visits of the Pistols to Manchester and the explosion of creativity those events triggered.

Edweena wears these influences plainly on her sleeve. Diamond Rocks careers from the dirty, bluesy rock n roll of openers Rock And Roll Land and Give It Up For Johnny – the latter mashing up The Heartbreakers and The Ramones into a melange of NY protopunk – to almost John Shuttleworthian keyboard-led balladry (Where Did It All Go Wrong?). There’s breezy pop too (Love Is Great) that would stand up in any era. It’s mainly Bowie and Mick Ronson though that get the heaviest nods (AladinSane Again), while Boogie In The Well Of Love is simply a distillation of the Bolan method, replete with lyrical nods and vocal phrasings lifted directly from the T. Rex playbook.

Does it all make sense? If you’re familiar with the references and with the stylings, yes it does. It’s also remarkable that the entire album is the work of one person. There’s almost a demo quality to the musicality that enhances the sketchbook quality of the album, almost as if the sometimes wavering vocal and occasional musical stutter. A deliberately nostalgic and affectionately and deliberately unoriginal album from one of our true originals that makes up for its deficiencies with charm and a knowing wink.

You can purchase Diamond Rocks on CD here. Edweena will also be playing an album launch show at the Star & Garter, Bolton, UK on the 18th December.