Special Affections

Hopefully none of the charm of Special Affections is lost in the process, and the record is seen as more of a building block on which to add, rather than an early turn at which some distance is required. As the former, it is a great start to which greater things are implied, anticipated, and, eventually, expected. No pressure.

Even if Diamond Rings' rapidly evolving aesthetic has already moved beyond Special Affections' bedsit R&B, the album still stands as an exemplary model of how one can live out blinged-out fantasies on a cubic zirconia budget.

O'Regan's voice is the centerpiece. Unlike seemingly every other bedroom music maker these days, there's a real power and discernable confidence to his croon.

Pitting his manly baritone against squishy feminine keys in the sexually ambiguous '80s tradition, O'Regan gives his transformation a thrilling edge, not least because there's real danger involved.

Much of Special Affections is full of endless, nakedly straightforward laments like, "So I lay on the floor with the heart that I wore upon my sleeve when I lost your love" ("Play By Heart") or "If you want to throw a party, I can cry tonight" ("It's Not My Party"). It pairs well with O'Regan's knack for effortlessly infectious vocal melodies.