There were so many adjectives racing around in my head as I was listening to DIEMER’s ‘Lifting Up’. Soulful took the lead, with vivid coming in close second, and breezy claiming the bronze medal.
A singer and songwriter writing beautiful indie pop and rock, Manu Diemer -aka DIEMER– is one of the soft, sensible, and reliable musicians that the indie scene direly needs. On his latest release, a single from his debut six-song EP My World, planned to release over the course of 2026’s early months, DIEMER showcases exactly what he’s here to do, and that is to make stirring music that move listeners, not intending to shake them into awareness, or jolt them with energy. DIEMER’s ‘Lifting Up’ is sweet and beautiful.
Influenced by Queen, The Beatles, and Oasis, whose fiery rock tendencies can be experienced in the song’s fast tempo and stellar rhythm piano strikes, in DIEMER’s prominent wailed melodies in the chorus, and in the buttery smooth lead guitar solo that carries the song to its conclusion, I can hear a lot of Richard Hawley as well in the song’s no-frills pop sensibilities and the saccharine-sweet lyrics, not to mention the chord sequences that drip with color and character. There is an abundant charm to this energizing little song.
DIEMER certainly has what it takes to make a name for himself. He might not make headlines as the trendiest of pop stars, but for those we’ll most certainly manage to touch with both his voice and music, he will be a truly treasured gem.
