Diane Coffee is the child of rock-glam band Foxygen alumni Shaun Fleming; but the apple has fallen pretty far from the tree.
Fleming’s new work – particularly in the release of his newest and second album, Everybody’s A Good Dog – takes an entirely different influence, blending in elements of 90s pop and 60s rock to create an enticing new sound with a little vintage twist.
The name Diane Coffee itself was drawn from the works of the legendary Diane Ross, in addition to singer-songwriter Nathan Pelkey’s song ‘Mr. Coffee’. The name, the character of Diane Coffee and Fleming’s works themselves speak to the play between the masculine and feminine archetypes, and their ability to blend and blur in the media we create and the music we listen to.
This is what Fleming does so well – on first listen tracks conjure girl groups of yesteryear, tracks such as All Saints’ ‘Never Ever’ or ‘Pure Shores’. You’ve got high vocals, and flares of synth that chase after electric and metal instrumentation. But also obvious is the occasional grit of hard rock, and pressure building into a slow waltz-like release which lets go into a Queen-like refrain.
A blending of sounds and influences to tell a unique musical story, Diane Coffee covers familiar topics with a new twist. With lyrics impeccably written and production polished, these are throwback tracks taken in an entirely different direction.
