Press

For There / After

“A top-notch album.”
Mark Rheaume – CBC Radio One

“Part a singer-songwriter and part an alt-country guitarist... The rousing duet Found Us Again, with the astonishing Lysa Fina, beats anything off the new Emmylou Harris-Mark Knopfler disc...You gotta love Amer Diab.”
Brad Wheeler – The Globe & Mail

“Diab has avoided the sophomore jinx with There / After, delivering the goods with a dozen singer/songwriter gems. Understated country two-steppers like Champ and Found Us Again boast stirring lap steel. And, on the latter, a drop-dead gorgeous duet with Lysa Fina recalls the Parsons-Harris chemistry that to this day sets the standard. Even the fluffy tearjerker ballads come off as soulful statements of purpose in Diab's hands, largely because his humility sounds genuine. A scintillating cover of the Boss's Nebraska may indicate where his career is heading.”
Brent Raynor – NOW Magazine

“A Spectacular CD... One of the scene’s most endearing treasures.”
Andy Frank – CIUT FM

“There / After trades the bitter taste of remorse for a shot, however faint, at redemption... By turns buoyant, bracing, and sweet tempered, Diab connects the dots between Chilton, Parsons, Strummer and Springsteen with both reverence and self respect... [Diab] knows now how to better deliver the maximum emotional punch- and his strident, full blooded songs are all the better for it. A strong sophomore effort that never wilts under the pressure.”
Steve Baylin – Ottawa Xpress

“Full of energy, diversity, confidence and brimming full of top songs. Found Us Again will be in my top 10 songs of 2006. Americana doesn't get much better than this... I can't recommend this record enough. Rating: 10 out of 10.”
Andy Riggs – Americana UK

“An exceptional new disc... A horn section, violin, lap steel, and female backing vocals help give the disc real musical depth. The tune Joe's Blues is brilliant, and its subject, the late Joe Strummer, would be proud.”
Kerry Doole - Tandem Magazine

“Diab should become more of a prominent fixture on the Canadian music scene.”
Steve Mclean - ChartAttack

“Toronto singer and songwriter Amer Diab follows up his solid 2003 debut The Year of the Apology with another tidily arranged set that makes understated but effective use of horns, strings and backing vocals... Steeped in bittersweet reminiscence.”
Vit Wagner – The Toronto Star

Very engaging... His voice has a quality along the lines of Harry Nilsson... Another great find and one I shall be keeping an eye on.
Colin Meeks – Indie Launchpad

For The Year of the Apology

"A gifted guitarist, songwriter and performer with a musical reach that knows no limits ... honest, gritty lyrics and refreshing musicality."
Andy Frank - CIUT FM

"It's music for music lovers, songs for the spiritual, an album for the inspired... Go out and see him now, before the bars get too crowded."
Erica Basnicki - Soulshine Magazine
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"[A] solidly-crafted 11-song debut... prickly pop... reverberating aural collage... [and] a roiling crest of surf guitar."
Vit Wagner - The Toronto Star
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"...echoes of Ron Sexsmith can be heard in Diab’s well-written and incisive songs. [He] may be a relative unknown at the moment, but he certainly doesn’t deserve to be."
Steve McLean - Canadian Music Network
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"A splendid record... [Diab has] a knack for crafting his own gems..."
Alex Steininger - In Music We Trust
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"While Amer Diab's first solo record is good, it reveals even greater potential... Diab's voice, roughed with the finest sandpaper, is earnest, and so is the look in his eye... You'll want to see what comes next."
Lauren Ferranti - Chart Magazine

"...Diab transform[s] alternately into a country-rock Elvis Costello... and a bruised-up Jackson Browne..."
Stuart Berman - Eye Weekly
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"...a debut that evokes crying in your beer and smoking rollies at the Matador..."
Sarah Liss - Now Magazine
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"Diab grits his teeth and carves out a raw, rustic sound that recalls the wiry work of Ryan Adams..."
Steve Baylin - Ottawa Xpress  
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"A marvelous record... it’s only a matter of time before a swarm of industry vultures hop onto the Diab bandwagon."
Toni-Marie Ippolito - Scene And Heard  
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"Honest lyrics set to a moody, yet melodic backdrop, make The Year of the Apology a pleasure to repeatedly spin - certainly not something to apologize for."
Ryan McLaughlin - Canadian Musician  
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"Diab is an expressive vocalist with a keen melodic sense and a bit of a whiskey rattle, a la Jeff Tweedy... Well crafted and thoughtfully arranged... "
Chuck Molgat - Exclaim  

"Well crafted songs that showcase a delicious blend of hypnotic musicality alongside strong lyrics... With appealing vocals, the album starts strong and gets even better as it goes along, and then gets stronger still with repeated listens."
Kimberly Logue - The Spill Magazine  
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"... this Torontonian has put together that rare thing: a singer-songwriter’s record that doesn’t neglect to showcase musicality alongside lyric and songcraft... Keep an eye on this one."
Stuart Henderson - UmbrellaMusic