Diamond Rings

Diamond Rings - You & Me 7"

Diamond Rings is pleased to announce that he will be rounding out an incredible year by supporting Junior Boys on a slew of European tour dates kicking off in Stockholm on November 18th. In addition to the tour, Diamond Rings’ critically acclaimed debut full-length Special Affections will be available in Europe on November 1st courtesy of Astralwerks. Diamond Rings will also release a limited edition 7” featuring the choice Special Affections cut You & Me on the A-Side. The flip side sees John O apply his signature danceable interpretation to Teenage Fanclub’s Mellow Doubt. The digital version is already available on iTunes in Europe and North America, with the vinyl available on the European tour and in Canada as of November 29 via Secret City. Listen To O’Regan’s cover of Teenage Fanclub’s “Mellow Doubt” here courtesy of Pitchfork.

NOW Toronto interviews director of Diamond Rings new video, "It's Not My Party"

"I remember at the end of the night as John was desperately trying to hail a cab, a man came up to me and asked “Are you with her?” I said “Yes - she’s wasted and it’s time for me to take her home.”"

Diamond Rings at Vancouver's Biltmore Cabaret on Backstage Rider

"Diamond Rings is equal parts neon bright colours and gangly tree-limbs, smeared lipstick and a great shaved head, amazing sweet lyrics and Casiotone overload."

Diamond Rings' LA Show Review on One Thirty BPM

"Sure, we get countless excellent shows in Los Angeles. Hell, we even got at least three last weekend. But, Diamond Rings brought something special and memorable to the table"

Diamond Rings extends North American tour

Diamond Rings isn’t showing any signs of slowing down in 2011 after a 2010 that saw him go from curiosity to pop-star in just a few months. Since the October release of Special Affections he’s scored big support from Pitchfork, grabbed New York Times and NME nods, landed on to the cover of Exclaim! and scored the number 2 spot in the 6th annual hottest bands in Canada poll behind only Arcade Fire. As if that wasn’t enough, In December he announced that he’d be supporting pop superstar Robyn on her 2011 North American tour starting in January. Now we’re pleased to announce that John O will staying on the road through April on a co-headline tour with Canadian pals PS I Love You. Full tour details are on the shows page.

Diamond Rings to tour with Robyn

Secret City Records is please to announce that pop-prince Diamond Rings will be touring the United States with international sensation Robyn in January and February. These is the dates:

Diamond Rings on Daytrotter

"The songs, when they are bare and shivering as they are here, with stark instrumentation - accompaniment from a single guitar pulled down from the studio wall or the upright piano in the corner - are bleeding and pulsing examples of hypersensitivity and of a narrator who has been to some dark places."

Diamond Rings on the SPIN blog

"Diamond Rings’ debut, Special Affections, has four or five of the catchiest choruses I’ve heard this year... some seriously well-crafted, catchy music."

Diamond Rings on KEXP Song of the Day

"irresistible"

Special Affections Pitchfork Review (8.2)

"But as fascinating as it is to hear an indie rock artist step outside of his comfort zone, both musically and emotionally, Special Affections' skeletal electro-pop sketches routinely fortify into full-blooded anthemic choruses that make O'Regan's liberation your own. ... an exemplary model of how one can live out blinged-out fantasies on a cubic zirconia budget."

Diamond Rings Exclaim! Cover Story

"The transformation from John O'Regan of the D'Urbervilles to Diamond Rings was a shock for most, to say the least. His style is equal parts Bowie circa Aladdin Sane, Retro Junk and Foot Locker; his music borrows from Arthur Russell, Handsome Furs, Peaches and Grace Jones, and his embrace of the music video is as shrewd as Michael Jackson, Madonna and Lady Gaga before him ― albeit on a shoestring budget."

Special Affections Austin Town Hall Review

"an album to spin over and over and over again"

Diamond Rings in Paper

"t' s no surprise that Diamond Rings is one of this year's biggest music blog darlings. Keyboard in tow and signature kaleidoscopic makeup painted on his porcelain complexion, the Toronto-bred Diamond Rings creates upbeat, synth-laden pop music that blows past typical dance tunes, utilizing lyrics that boast substance and nostalgia over shock-value."

Special Affections Metro News Review

"A flawless debut."

Special Affections Quick Before It Melts Review

"Special Affections crackles, pops and sparks with energy and wit, threatening to morph from a bonfire to an inferno before your very eyes."

Special Affections Soundscapes Review

"It is perfect pop music that points to that specific, chrysalid moment of change, acting it out in both figurative and literal ways. O'Regan chronicles these changes with plainspoken vocals that sound experienced, bored and overwhelmed all at once. And of the record's ten tracks, at least half of them are full-on hits."

Special Affections - The Onion A/V Club Review

"But although the laptop rocker’s 2009 breakthrough viral video “All Yr Songs” dripped with intentional gimmickry, it also hinted at a sincere sentimentality that O’Regan’s debut, Special Affections, wears wholeheartedly. Much of that is due to O’Regan’s voice, a charming, sad bastard baritone reminiscent of The Triffids’ David McComb or, more pointedly, The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, with whom he also shares a love of simple synth-pop à la The Human League"

Diamond Rings Interview Magazine feature

"With a voice that has been characterized as a purring Ian Curtis, Diamond Rings is part dance album, part diary."

Diamond Rings' debut, Special Affections, is out today!

Diamond Rings debut full-length album is out today. It's called Special Affections and it's awesome, and we don't seem to be the only ones who think so. John O has also launched a new Diamond Rings website for All Things Rings.

Diamond Rings - Special Affections - Toronto Star Pick of the Week

"Make no mistake, though, as fabulous as Diamond Rings’ makeup-slathered style might be, Special Affections has the substance to back it up."

Diamond Rings CMJ review in New York Times blog

"Onstage alone, he more than held his own, doing self-aware tunes... in a lush vocal over a synthy backing track from his laptop."

Something Else on Pitchfork's Playlist

"a real standout, lovingly carrying the torch for the pepped-up gloom of O'Regan's post-punk forebears. Not to say that "Something Else" is that down of a song, with its jukey drum machine and that Strokes-y guitar hook giving off some delightful, dancefloor-ready vibes.../O'Regan ends up winning the "better without you" battle handily, coming off like the last of a famous dying breed of international, tongue-in-cheek miserablists. And that looks absolutely terrific on him."

Your Flesh Mag - Special Affections review

"poised on the edge of mega-stardom with this first collection of extremely memorable and intelligent pop songs...Avoiding this album is gonna be pretty difficult in the near future, so get into this quick so you can hip all your friends to it and be a hero while there’s still time…"

Diamond Rings - Special Affections Chromewaves Review

"the sky is the limit and Special Affections delivers on all promises made."

Diamond Rings drops new video, announces more tour dates and full CMJ schedule

It’s going to be a very busy fall for Diamond Rings. He's already dropped a Tunnelvision documentary, released the limited-edition Something Else 7”, wooed crowds at Pop Montreal, and is currently in Reykjavik for the annual Iceland Airwaves festival. As if that wasn't enough, we're pleased to announce his latest video for the single “Something Else” along with tons more tour dates across North America and the UK, highlighted by a jam-packed schedule at CMJ. You can check out the new video here. "Something Else" will appear on Diamond Rings’ debut album Special Affections out October 25th across North America. We're now accepting pre-orders for the CD and LP. You can also currently pre-order from iTunes and Amazon. As soon as John O is done in Iceland he'll be bouncing over to New York for a very busy CMJ that's bookended by an official showcase at the Stereo-Gun Party on October 20th, and Pitchfork #Offline on October 23rd. The Special Affections tour then kicks off October 26th in Toronto, and dates have been added in Montreal (Halloween!), Vancouver, LA, San Fransisco, Chicago and more. New dates will be added in the coming weeks as well. The complete tour dates are below. Be sure to join the Diamond Rings mailing list for more up-to-minute details. Tour Dates: 10/16 Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavik, Iceland 10/20 CMJ (Stereo Gun Party) Santos Party House, New York, NY 10/21 CMJ (Knitting Factory Party), Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY 10/21 CMJ (NYC Taper Day Party) Cake Shop, New York, NY 10/22 CMJ (Distiller Day Party), Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY 10/23 CMJ (Bowery Presents Party), Pianos, New York, NY 10/23 CMJ (Pitchfork #Offline) Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY 10/26 The Garrison, Toronto, ON* 10/27 Alex P. Keaton, London, ON* 10/28 This Ain't Hollywood, Hamilton, ON* 10/29 Raw Sugar Café, Ottawa, ON* 10/30 The Mansion, Kingston, ON* 10/31 Il Motore, Montreal, QC* 11/01 Ebar Guelph, ON* 11/04 Mojo, Liverpool, UK 11/05 Inside Out, Darlington, UK 11/06 Barfly, Cardiff, UK 11/08 The Forum, Sheffield, UK 11/09 Roadmender, Northampton, UK 11/10 The Lexington, London, UK 11/11 The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, UK 11/12 The Adelphi Club, Hull, UK 11/13 Cockpit, Leeds, UK 11/18 The Pawn Shop, Edmonton, AB 11/19 Broken City, Calgary, AB 11/20 Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC 11/23 Echo, Los Angeles, CA 11/25 330 Ritch, San Francisco, CA 11/28 Lucky Bar, Victoria BC 12/01 Empty Bottle, Chicago, IL 12/03 DC9, Washington DC 12/04 Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY * w/ PS I Love You

Vue Weekly - Special Affections review

"Special Affections moves Diamond Rings into much more thoughtful territory, exploring the aspects of love, loss and youth that he only scratched the surface of in his first single." [ four stars]

Diamond Rings announces new 7" single, first wave of tour dates in support of Special Affections

Happy days, there's a new Diamond Rings 7-inch on the way. The A-side boasts a new song entitled Something Else—the next banging single off of the forthcoming Special Affections which is due October 25th. The 7-inch is limited to 500 copies and will be out on September 28th. Don't worry, if that's too long to wait for your next Diamond Rings fix, yesterday Stereogum premiered the B-side to said 7-inch, a cover of Milla Jovovich's 1994 hit, The Gentleman Who Fell. It also features Owen Pallett taking care of the piano and string arrangements. Aaand it's available for pre-order from us now, if you want to ensure getting your hands on a freshly pressed copy. Diamond Rings has also just announced the first wave of tour dates in support of the full length. In addition to his Rifflandia and Pop Montreal festival appearances at the end of the month (and a one off in Seattle), he'll be inaugurating a tour the day the record drops in Canada, with a release show on October 26th in Toronto at the Garrison. Check it out: Sep 22 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe w/ Perfume Genius Sep 25 – Victoria, BC – Rifflandia Festival Sep 30 – Montreal, QC – Cabaret Juste Pour Rire (Pop Montreal) Oct 16 – Reykjavik, Iceland – Iceland Airwaves Festival Oct 26 – Toronto, ON – The Garrison Oct 27 – London, ON – Alex P Keaton Oct 28 – Hamilton, ON – This Ain’t Hollywood Oct 29 – Ottawa, ON – Raw Sugar Café Oct 30 – Kingston, ON – Mansion