Diamond Grinder is a New York-based folk-rock band formed in 2021 by Margaret Nygard and Eli Recht-Appel, whose songwriting partnership traces back to early attempts during their high school days in San Francisco, California. After many years of off-and-on collaboration between the pair, Nygard moved to New York City in the summer of 2021, where Recht-Appel had lived for the previous five years. The two, both residing in the Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens, began to write music together frequently, overtime generating the material for their debut album, Expectations, which showcases not only the songwriting partnership at the core of Diamond Grinder, but also many exceptional performances by the rotating cast of New York musicians who have helped Nygard and Recht-Appel get their music off the ground.