Album Review: Robot by Flying Racoon Suit

Robot is the new three-song EP from Mississippi based ska band Flying Racoon Suit and it was self released on the 31st of December.

The first of the three songs, titled Parasites, shows the influence of the 90's third wave ska punk bands that have had an effect on Flying Racoon Suit. The guitars at the beginning help set the tone of the song before being joined by horns playing the same tune. Andrew’s vocals are poppy and upbeat, making the song sound perfect for that summer road trip to the beach. There is a great use of gang vocals in the song. I always enjoy when a band makes full use of all its members during a song, it gives it a more inclusive feel. The second song, Crawl, starts with some quite dark horns before a complete switch up to a slower paced horn part before Jessica's vocals take centre stage. It reminds me partly of Save Ferris's Monique Powell and partly of old western speakeasy performers and I really enjoyed it. The song also gives plenty of opportunity for Flying Racoon Suits’ horn section to show off some serious ability. The final song on the EP is named Mississipi and is a short ska punk assault. Beginning with a harmonica and banjo before the punk rock and horns kick in, the song is played at a relentless place that really will get you skanking even if the song is only a minute and a bit long. The song is good fun but kind of feels like the kind of track you find as a bonus song at the end of a full length album rather than on a short EP.

Robot is a fun little EP from a band I had never heard of and probably wouldn't have if I hadn't been randomly clicking through the Bandcamp discovery section. If you like your 90's ska punk then you might just enjoy Flying Racoon Suit.

Stream and download Robot here: https://flyingraccoonsuit.bandcamp.com/ 

Like Flying Racoon Suit here: https://www.facebook.com/Flying-Raccoon-Suit