ALBUM REVIEW: Is It Time To Fly? – Diplomatics

Back for the third time we have Italian punk outfit DIPLOMATICS and their newly released album Is It Time To Fly?. Influenced by the likes of AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS, VIAGRA BOYS and PARQUET COURTS, the record is a unique take on the classic punk vocal style of shouty, spoken word and your standard lyrical content of alienation, loneliness, and criticising a capitalist society, but at the same time making sure to focus on the good times that we all have as a gentle reminder that the world is not all doom and gloom.

As a result, we have a record that is just summed up with a simple statement of ‘pure fun’. Opening track Jungle confirms this with a funky, upbeat intro that draws comparison to DON BROCO before going into a song that just sounds so cool. Somehow the band have managed to mash the style of 70s punk and modern indie rock effortlessly and it just makes you want to get up and dance. There’s even a saxophone thrown in that gives the track a little bit of a jazz edge, and it’s chaotic in the best way possible.

That’s a fair summary of the first three tracks; if you’re not really paying attention to it you may not realise that one song has finished and another has started, but it’s not a wholly negative experience as you continue to have fun along the way. It just feels like one long song. But then things switch up to the angrier punk side of things, and we love every minute of it. You Are Nothing has an aggressive chorus that draws comparison to SOFT PLAY (until last week known as SLAVES); Back To You is reminiscent of the 70s punk scene; Go High has a delicious electric guitar intro; and Seven Notes is a fun punk track that is reminiscent of JOAN JETT’s Bad Reputation. All of the aforementioned songs you can picture going off in an intimate, hot sweaty gig. Concluding track Dancing All Alone somehow combines the different styles the album has worked with, like we go back and forth between punk and jazz, all tied together with lovely female vocals and even a harmonica.

As mentioned, Is It Time To Fly? is just pure fun chaos. It’s the perfect something for when you want to get up and dance. The only real complaint is the blend of the first three tracks that are a little hard to differentiate between but that’s kind of nit-picking as this is still a very enjoyable experience.

Rating: 8/10

Is It Time To Fly? is out now via Go Down Records.

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