Calm Awaits For Black Diamond Bay

Black Diamond Bay's Calm Awaits debut album will be released on March 31 through MapleMusic.

"We're all really pleased with it, and very proud of it," former Dears guitarist Patrick Krief wrote in a Jan. 18 MySpace blog entry. "This album was made on a very moderate budget (most of it in my bedroom). None of it would have been possible if the people who worked on it didn't believe in us enough to take a gamble and help us out."

Black Diamond Bay began recording Calm Awaits last year in Montreal, but began to "refocus" the record after David Schiffman (Johnny Cash, Rage Against The Machine) travelled from Los Angeles to the band's hometown to work with them. They mixed the album with Schiffman at Montreal's Studio Mixart, and it was later mastered by Howie Weinberg (Jeff Buckley, Muse).

Guests on Calm Awaits include Broken Social Scene/Stars' Evan Cranley, The Stills' Liam O'Neil, Justin Wright, JP Cyr, Kristina Koropecki, Katie Stevens and Phil Look.

Krief released the Take It Or Leave EP under his surname in 2007. The musicians he enlisted to play on the EP eventually became Black Diamond Bay, who include Krief (vocals, guitar), Roberto Piccioni (keyboards), Andre Bendahan (bass) and George Donoso III (drums).

Black Diamond Bay will play these North American dates in support of Calm Awaits:

Jan. 27 Boston, MA @ Great Scott
Jan. 28 New York, NY @ Fontanas
Jan. 29 Hamden, CT @ The Space
Feb. 5 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Feb. 7 Montreal, QC @ Barfly
Feb. 12 Toronto, ON @ The Rivoli
Feb. 19 Montreal, QC @ La Sala Rossa
March 13 Toronto, ON @ Rancho Relaxo (CMW)
March 14 Pittsburgh, PA @ The Brillobox
March 15 Chicago, IL @ The Dark Room
March 21 Austin, TX @ Lambert's Barbeque (SXSW)
March 25 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews (all ages)
March 26 Menomonie, WI @ Blue Devil Lounge (University Of Wisconsin)
March 27 Minneapolis, MN @ The Uptown Bar
April 1 Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus