Diamonds in my eyes is the 24th studio album by English musician David Bowie. Released on 24th December 2015 through Columbia Records and production by Brian Eno and Toby Visconti, the album consolidated Bowie’s return to stardom after his decade long retirement, which had already be hinted by The Next Day (2013).
An avant-garde jazz-pop record, Diamonds in my eyes touches topics such as death (after Bowie’s scare with liver cancer, from which he recovered in spring 2015), politics (famously predicting the result of the upcoming 2016 Brexit referendum), nostalgia and racial relations. Strongly influenced by Kanye West, Brockhampton and the early 2010s vaporwave trend, the sometimes psychedelic lyrics and sounds in each of the twelve songs in the album are reminiscent of his experimental late 70s era.
The album received both the acclaim of the critics and the public, with the title track becoming the first Bowie’s song to reach No 1 at the UK Album’s Chart since Let’s Dance (1983), and the category for Best Rock Album and Best Lead Male Singer in the 2016 Grammys. Eno’s production, the two collaborations with Damon Albarn and Lorde and Bowie’s promotion of the album, which involved a triumphant come back to the media exposure in the form of interviews where he dressed up as his old characters, were particularly praised.
Bowie went back to tour for the first time since 2003. Headlining Glastonbury in 2017, he was embroiled in controversy after his comments on the Clinton administration’s policies in Syria. Diamonds in my eyes remains Bowie’s last album to date, though 2. Void is scheduled for release on 25th September 2021.
