“Princess Flash” by Foreign Diplomats

by Susan Shelton

Foreign Diplomats dove straight into some funky sounds with their newest album, Princess Flash. If Princess Flash were a real person, she would look a lot like an extra from a Capital Cities music video and sound like she had her throat expanded with a watermelon. The vocalist seems to have one volume (bellowing with exaggerated sadness), no matter what the instruments are doing. With that said, the instruments are always groovy and therefore, the album is fun to jam along with.

The melodies created for this album are the main thing that makes its listen worthwhile. If the horns in “Crown” are not exciting to you, maybe the steady drum kit and synthesizer in “Lies (of November)” will be enough. This album is incredibly versatile in melodic appeal. It is structured with various instruments and amounts of synthesized and real-sounding music. The mood shifts gradually as the album shifts, one of the most desirable features of the album, credited completely to the band.

Fans of Modest Mouse might like the vocals, but for the most part, they seem like a last minute add-in to what would otherwise be good music. The lyrics are not great and when paired with the shouting call used throughout most of the album, some of the songs lose appeal. In “Color,” the vocals seem to be the most controlled and the most enjoyable.

Foreign Diplomats know what they’re doing and any sort of complaint about their music is really a matter of preference. The album dropped on October 9^th via Indica Records.