Chronicles of a Diamond by Black Pumas

It’s a rare phenomenon when a sophomore album is better than a debut. Debut albums often have years of creativity built into them – the band members often having brought the songs along with them through the high school / college years, having noodled on them for ages before finally putting them to tape. Then the band is asked to produce a 2nd record in a fraction of that time, hence “the sophomore slump.”

Not so with Black Pumas’ 2nd album, Chronicles of a Diamond. The Pumas are a duo out of Austin, Texas. Their self-titled debut album from 2019 did hit my radar at the time, but was a bit too over-produced for my liking. It did not make the Top 31 that year. I think I was the only one to not connect with the album, as they received numerous nominations from the Grammys: Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year.

Fast-forward four years, and singer/songwriter Eric Burton and guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada have produced an even better follow-up. A lot of bands would have crumbled at the pressure of producing something that could match, let alone exceed their critically-acclaimed debut. But Chronicles does just that.

Black Pumas are put into the psychedelic soul genre, pioneered by the likes to Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone. Hard-hitting drums and keyboards back up the fuzzed out sounds of Quesada’s guitar and Burton’s vocals. Burton’s voice is placed forward of the band, his lyrics easily heard over the music. Their sound reminds me of the Dirtbombs, or Algiers (#18 in 2017), and even a little of Benjamin Clementine, but with more fuzz (you know Clementine – his song “Nemesis” is the theme song for AppleTV+’s The Morning Show). A neither Clementine nor Burton would be anywhere without Seal having led the way with his gorgeous voice 30 years ago.

Watch the video above, for their great lead single “More Than a Love Song.” You can also see videos for “Mrs. Postman,” “Angel,” and “Ice Cream (Pay Phone).” Even better, just check out Chronicles of a Diamond – it’s one hell of an album.