The Diggers - Mount Everest

7 Mar 1997 — 1 min read

I wouldn’t be surprised if The Diggers were a musical offshoot of callers to The Samaritans. The lyrics are full of laments about happy times, now long gone. They moan about their lives going nowhere, and that nobody loves them. It’s as if they are suffering from a mid-life crisis twenty years too early.

While the lyrics may be depressive, many of the tunes are quick paced and lively. Predominantly guitar driven, they offer a range of tone and feeling. None of the instrumentation is outstanding but it provides a solid foundation for the vocals which are both laconic and melancholic. The album is short, even so, this is more than enough time for the singer’s voice to get on your nerves. Overall it’s listenable, but lacking in depth or variety. The first track, ‘Circles’ shows them to best light, being upbeat about being miserable. It has chirpy lyrics and bright fretwork. Then ‘Peace Of Mind’ continues in a similar vein but down a notch on the cheerfulness rating, with lines such as, "Dig deep, six feet if you have to". Things become progressively disheartening from then on in, although quality wise the album never struggles or begs to be switched off.(6)

Dav

Reviews

Issue 1082

From Issue 1082

7th Mar 1997

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Read more

Michael

Andie MacDowell sings, John Travolta dances, Bob Hoskins cockney accent gets progressively more suspicious - what more could you possibly want? Hopefully not a plausible plot, as that’s certainly one thing that Michael doesn’t supply. Michael (Travolta) is an angel on his last visit to Earth, who communicates his

Laika - Sounds Of The Satellites

This is an album by one of those bands which people have only ever heard of, not actually heard. However, I think this is a bad thing. They quite succesfully mix the jazzy sound of Portishead with the beat intensive mood of Massive Attack, occasionally throwing in a bit of

Various - Talvin Singh Presents Anokha

Talvin Singh Presents... is not simply any old compilation album. He both writes, plays and produces on several of the tracks, and the album’s diversity stems from the fact that this has been compiled only under the heading Asian Underground. Anokha is the club night that has become synonymous

Subcircus - The Garage

This London quartet, Subcircus, ought to be quite pleased with themselves really. Hard working fellas, they played pushing on a hundred gigs last year. Supported the likes of Suede and Stranglelove. Put out their debut album, which is being met, ever so slowly, with more than its fair share of

Climate justice for a just world

Environment

Climate justice for a just world

In mainstream discussions on climate change, there is a tendency to focus on the environmental dimensions of the issue. Increasingly, however, there is greater recognition of the need to place equal emphasis on human impacts, notably in relation to under-recognised and vulnerable groups in society affected by social injustices

Who hears the cries during the celebration?

Sport

Who hears the cries during the celebration?

As the World Cup comes to an end, people from all around the world are celebrating this grand finale as a symbol of unity. It is supposed to be a joyful moment for everyone. Yet for some people, the happiness in the air conceals cries for help. Research from Lancaster

Imperial to downsize its security team

News

Imperial to downsize its security team

Imperial College is reducing the size of its Security and Community Safety (SCS) team to make financial savings. In emails sent to staff concerned by the changes in early June, the Director of Security and Community Safety said she identified a need to improve “value for money” and announced a

Hugh Brady to remain College President until 2030

News

Hugh Brady to remain College President until 2030

Professor Hugh Brady’s term as President of Imperial has been extended by three years until August 2030, following a unanimous approval by the College Council. In an email to students and staff, Council Chair Vindi Banga said a Search Committee commissioned in February found “extensive support for this extension”