Album Review: Diplomacy

When it comes to music, I’m all about storytelling. In my mind, storytelling goes beyond just the words we use to explain situations. It’s about taking complex emotions and walking the listener through the experience from beginning to end. That’s exactly what Diplomacy does on their self-titled EP.

Diplomacy is the name of the collaboration project between childhood friends Jack Falahee (Connor Walsh on ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder) and Tim Wu (who normally records under the moniker Elephante) from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The opening song on the EP, “Silver Lake Queen,” reminds me sonically of the laid-back younger brother of Muse’s 2009 song “Uprising,” with the similar feel of the drums and rhythm. It’s got a very clear cinematic quality and could easily be played behind a key plot twist in the latest boardroom drama.

“Undertow” and “Iris,” songs 2 and 3 on the EP, have a Lauv and Virginia To Vegas feel. The mix of Falahee’s well-executed laid-back vocal brings out those vibes, while Wu’s arrangements bring that style to new places, taking a slightly more soundscape approach to the tracks.

Then I heard “Interlude” and “Last Dance,” and that’s when it felt like the EP showed its true colors. “Interlude” is a voicemail-style recording being played over an ethereal and sad sound bed. The same sound bed and voicemail are then used in “Last Dance.” This time, Wu adds an acoustic guitar and drum/clap pattern resembling the triumphant sound of “From Now On” from The Greatest Showman, giving the song a conflicting emotional quality.

The entire EP tells a story that weaves its way through every song, with “Interlude” and “Last Dance” tying it all together. “Silver Lake Queen” starts the story with a strong description of the one-sided relationship to follow. The main character is in love with this man-eater of a woman from whom he can’t free himself.

“Undertow” starts with the chorus and makes it immediately clear that the song’s protagonist is more invested in this relationship, holding back his feelings at the wish of his love interest. Then we move into the fallout on “Iris”: “Took my sadness / Turned it to a palace / Now it’s our ballroom / I see your shadow when you’re gone / A diamond in your smile it still shines on.” This is followed by what appears to be the post-breakup voicemail sent by the love interest on “Interlude.”

The ending of this story is the most compelling part of this EP because it’s deliberately conflicted. The players haven’t changed, and neither has the game. But are they actually moving away from each other or simply moving back into the cycle set up by the EP’s tracklist, ending the story exactly where it began? The sad, reflective sounds of “Interlude” are a complete flip of those provided by the more upbeat tempo and jangly acoustic guitar of “Last Dance,” even though the same sound bed and voicemail play in the background of both. This conflict of emotions—hope mixed with an underlying sense of uncertainty—encapsulates the overall narrative arc of the EP: “But your ghost won’t let me be / And my heart won’t skip a beat / I’ve been searching for a way out the door / So I can find my way to you.” I love the flow of the overall narrative in this EP and the way the end of the story points back to the first song in a circular progression of the story.

I would definitely recommend giving Diplomacy a listen.

About the Pop Culturalist Contributor, Josh
Josh Taerk is a Billboard-charting singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and entrepreneur who loves storytelling in all its forms. When Taerk is off the road, he enjoys finding the best pizza and wings, binge-watching shows like The Witcher, and reading anything by Christopher Moore.