Nick Diamonds’ second solo effort strikes a balance between somber and sunny

Diamonds’ sophomore release, City Of Quartz, is an electrifying awakening from all this foreboding and desolation. Although a significant part of the album is defined by brooding electronica, he grafts on layers of vibrant melodies and quirky psychedelics to turn the IDM slow-burners into loose, expansive synth-pop jams. Nowhere is this more evident than on “The Sting,” which glides through the shadows with slinky, throbbing bass and a stuttering guitar line until breaking into a bright, soaring outro.

The record’s pinnacle of playfulness is “Bohemian Groove,” a bouncing, sunny cut of tropic-pop that sprinkles bubbling keyboard blips and warped smears into a Caribbean style that Islands previously tinkered with on its 2006 debut. With “Witch Window,” a colorful swirl of ascending synths, shimmering guitars, and breezy chants of “c’mon now,” the tracks set an angst-free contrast to the ominous vibes and downcast ruminations on loneliness elsewhere on the record. That diversity of emotions and atmospheres—employed in top-notch songwriting throughout—makes City Of Quartz a multifaceted success. In capturing both Diamonds’ lingering malaise and a regained sense of carefree abandon, the album melds the sophisticated melancholy compositions of his recent career with whimsical experimentation.