5 Billion In Diamonds

5 Billion In Diamonds 100%. CD/DL/LP

Debut from new transatlantic operation featuring Butch Vig. Anyone who thinks that Nirvana producer and Garbage founder Vig operates most successfully in the world of melodic rock is likely to be surprised by 5 Billion In Diamonds, his new outfit featuring British DJ James Grillo and producer Andy Jenks. Rooted in early ‘70s pastoral folk, with shades of that era’s prog experiments and trippier film soundtracks, these 10 tracks pull in various guest vocalists to elegantly focus the hazy watercolour sounds. The Soundtrack Of Our Lives’ Ebbot Lundberg solely fronts three tracks with his laidback croon, most effectively in the lovely Broken Wing, while Helen White (formerly Jenks’ bandmate in Alpha) wafts over the jazzy David Axelrod-like atmosphere of Where The Moonbeams Are. The ho-hum indie rock of Better If briefly breaks the spell, but this is an impressive start.