It's hard to ignore the excitement in Diane Birch's voice as she's caught pulling up to a Portland, Oregon, radio station. To be sure, it's partly because she's about to perform live on the air, but the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter is even more keen to visit her family afterwards.

Having spent the last couple of weeks in Europe—and the better part of the last year on the road in support of her soulful debut disc Bible Belt—the one-time West Coaster is ready to savour some rest and relaxation at her parents', however short-lived it may be.

“I'm here for a few hours doing a radio show and then I'm heading back to Europe in the next couple days,” a bubbly Birch tells the Straight. “It's bittersweet because I wish I could stay longer. There's no rest for the weary!”

While bouncing from city to city is the norm for musician types, it seems like Birch has been on the go since birth. She was born in the U.S., but her father's work as a missionary saw her spend time in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Australia before she settled in Portland for her teens.

Despite feeling like an outsider when she arrived back in the U.S., Birch managed to find a friend upon her return. The troubling thing, however, is that he wasn't real.

Succumbing to an obsession with the 18th century, the budding songstress fell into a world of fantasy that included the charming, yet entirely fictional Valentino.

“I was very eccentric and dressed in bizarre outfits; sort of my version of Marie Antoinette,” she admits. “I was convinced for a period of time that I was from the 18th century, just trapped in time. I created this imaginary friend, a muse from the 18th century named Valentino.”

Though Birch is adamant that she's not, well, crazy—“I didn't go around talking about him too loudly to anyone,” she insists—her made-up companion served as both a friend and as musical inspiration.

Bible Belt's current catchy single “Valentino” finds the 27-year-old waxing nostalgic about her more innocent days. A cheery vibe permeates the blue-eyed soul number as Birch trots out cheery piano runs atop a glorious choir of woo-hoos, but her lyrics suggest she's crying behind a mile-wide grin. “My tears don't show/But oh honey they flow,” she slyly coos on the chorus of the song

While the pianist has since moved on to flesh-and-blood friends, the bulk of Bible Belt informs listeners that other men in the artist's life have gone the way of Valentino. Birch laments losing a lover to another woman on the slow-burning ballad “Rewind”, while the AM-gold arrangement of strings and vibraphone on “Photograph” finds her tearfully packing up her broken dreams.

“It's hard for me to write about things when it's all happy and peachy,” she laments. “I know it's the same with a lot of artists; we tend to gather most of our material when we're at the bottom of the pit. I'm okay to express moments of weakness.”

That being said, Birch is hardly the sad sack that some of her songs portray. Between performing around the world and enjoying the time she gets to spend with her family—not to mention her current beau—things are looking up for the songwriter.

“I'm in a really good place with my current relationship. At the same time, it's a little harder to write songs when you don't have any drama in your life. Sometimes it's good to shake it up a little because a few more songs will pop out.”

Diane Birch was scheduled to play Five Sixty Club on Sunday (May 16). That performance has since been cancelled.