The Diplomat: This Is My Mountain

[rating=3.50]

The Diplomat is a true DIY group.  Unsigned and expertly unpolished, the group is the brainchild and vehicle for New Jersey native Yuri Fain.   Fain’s debut album, This Is My Mountain, is the culmination of 3 years of musical self-rediscovery dating back to 2003.  Following the break up of his previous group, The New Haircut, Fain took a few months hiatus from writing and performing music before the seed for what would become The Diplomat was finally planted.  In true DIY fashion Fain played most of the album himself only accompanied by longtime friend Jared Leibowitz on bass and keyboards. 

The album kicks off with “Green,” a piano instrumental sounding like an aged vinyl record and lays down the tracks for the original and unpredictable paths that lay ahead.  The album really takes off with “That Morning,” an acoustic driven rocker where one can’t help but draw influences from the likes of Elliott Smith to The Smiths.  And that’s not a bad thing.  The album boasts an overall feel only akin to DIY masterminds Guided by Voices (similarly held together by one man) and The Diplomat barely fumbles as they are passed the torch.  Another highlight, “Hot Bizzness” has Fain sounding like Morrisey and Win Butler’s lovechild crooning over a 50’s doo-wop bass line, in turn layered over with Nintendo-like synths.  This Is My Mountain is a refreshing indie album in today’s bloated music scene mixing acoustic, electric and electronic sounds yet firmly grounded by melody  While the album does start to wane a bit on the second half, it never loses the spark that The Diplomat have infused it with.  If nothing else, the album boasts an amazing amount of potential and will definitely make The Diplomat an artist to keep on your radar.

Check out the band’s myspace at www.myspace.com/thediplomatband where you can purchase a physical or MP3 copy of the album.

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