Stream Diane Birch with the Phenomenal Handclap Band's entire new EP The Velveteen Age at AOL's website (available until December 13).
“During my teenage years as a Goth these songs were amongst my nearest and dearest,” says Birch, who appears in one of her vintage Victorian wedding dresses at age 16 in the photo on the EP cover. “Sitting in my bedroom with my headphones pressed into my ears till they hurt, each song gave me a weird kind of hope for my future. I would have never imagined I would get a chance to record them one day, let alone with some of my closest friends.”
The daughter of a conservative pastor, Birch was only allowed to listen to church hymns growing up. She rebelled as a young teen by embracing Goth culture, attending her father's services in a floor-length black cape and vintage wedding dress, and listening to bands like Sisters of Mercy, Peter Murphy, and Echo & The Bunnymen. On ‘The Velveteen Age,’ Birch covers these and other artists with affection, exultation and a wicked backbeat courtesy of the members of the Phenomenal Handclap Band.
'The Velveteen Age' was recorded in Brooklyn, between songwriting sessions for Diane’s next album of original material. It follows her extraordinary debut album 'Bible Belt’ (S-Curve/2009), which opened in the Billboard Top 100 and earned glowing reviews from The New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and more. Birch toured extensively and made numerous television appearances supporting ‘Bible Belt,’ including The Today Show, Letterman, and Ellen.
- DianeBirch.com
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