Occupying a space similar to that conquered by Foxygen, Diane Coffee serve up Seventies textures with a decidedly New Wave bent. The new album, With People, is out on Friday on Polyvinyl and it's a largely successful blending of the genres of a few decades.
"Bullied", an early highlight, recalls Fleetwood Mac and Rundgren, while nodding in the direction of Jon Brion's forays into the AM Gold era, while "Forecast", a number featuring Deep Sea Diver, made me think of The Motels a bit, even as the melody suggested something far sunnier. Shaun Fleming masterminds all of this material, with production support from Jonathan Rado (Foxygen), and a listener can't help but be drawn in. The hooks are easy ones to find and the layers of instruments expertly mixed. There's really not much amiss here so it becomes a trip back to things you might have loved in your youth.
All that said, Fleming seems to have more of a knack for this kind of thing that did Foxygen. What was forced and tuneless in their hands, is here more polished, with the riffs and chords serving big, big tunes, like "The Great Escape", a real charmer. This one, part Wilburys, sure, is as catchy as anything from Sheryl Crow and more cleverly constructed. Fleming's work here is superb, suggesting a smart way of serving up music that wears its influences on its sleeves, even while nudging things in unexpected directions at crucial moments.
With People is out on Friday via Polyvinyl.
[Photo: Polyvinyl]