Chris Barth, songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitar player for the indie rock band Impossible Shapes, formed Normanoak during the recording of the band's We Like It Wild album in winter 2002-2003. Recorded onto a four-track cassette rig, Born a Black Diamond was created late at night after studio sessions were complete, resulting in a quiet, lo-fi collection of backwoods folk tunes that owe as much to Syd Barrett as they do Hank Williams. Born a Black Diamond was released in 2004 on Secretly Canadian Records. ~ James Christopher Monger