Foreign Diplomats: When I say party, you say… Foreign Diplomats? Departing from their bureaucratic moniker, which was taken from a sign in the airport, the five members of the indie-pop band delivered a lively set that was as much fun to listen to as it was to watch. Since releasing their self-titled EP in 2013 through Indica Records, the Montreal-based troupe has built an undeniably strong ensemble of energetic songs that mix a provoking, electronic blend of keyboard, strings, and percussion. Lead singer, Élie Raymond’s vocals carry a groovy vibrato and help to create a synth-pop sound, reminiscent of Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring. Overall? An accessible, catchy set, filled with lots of dancing — both on and off stage.

Adrian Underhill: Another member of the Indica family, Adrian Underhill offered a timeout from the high-intensity sounds brought by earlier artists. A soulful, bluesy singer-songwriter, who radiated a normcore Zen from behind the keyboard, Toronto-based Underhill was welcomed with open arms and hearts by a supportive crowd. Although faced with a few technical issues that seemed to lift the keyboard above Underhill’s soft vocals, the showcase’s third set was an example of the power of quietly building scales and pairing them with thoughtful lyrics.

photos by Erik Shaw

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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.

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