Tuesday 13 March 2018

Plastic | Here There Is No Gravity | Album Review

Plastic have decided upon an ambitious Album title, with Here There Is No Gravity, complete with an album cover straight out the page book of cartoons like Rick and Morty and Salad Fingers. Fittingly, their songs have the twists and turns to match. The album was released on 9th March. 



 Opener Flossing at first has a melodic pop-punk feel in its guitar melody. Throughout the song however, the band transition to showcase choppy, powerful riffs that feel like the musical equivalent of a snowboarding trip caught in an avalanche. This gives their sound a balance between an upbeat playfulness (bolstered by the fact that the lyrics in Flossing at first lash out with a little toilet humour) and a powerful, edgy sound which nods to bands like Alice in Chains, Corrosion Of Conformity, and at times even the dark, atmospheric tones captured by Gallows on Grey Britain. The vocals contain echoes of Archers of Loaf and Nirvana, with a weather beaten smokiness, giving a likable character.

   These contrasts are something which Plastic work with well across the album. The fact that they don’t take themselves too seriously is an unlikely compliment to the overhanging darkness both in musicality and the themes of substance abuse and isolation. Even the deceptively happy sounding guitar licks during the bridge in Flossing have a cold sense of desperation just underneath. Another strength is their dynamism into heavy jamming riffs within a concise song format, giving an experimental edge that doesn’t veer off into self indulgence.

    Situations opens with stern, hoarse vocals that could have been sung through gritted teeth, together with dynamic guitar that creates a feeling not unlike being in a plane taking off, or a car setting off a little too fast. It is a song that provides the same kind of thrilling catharsis that Radio Friendly Unit Shifter by Nirvana did during my teenage years.

   The use of thick, snarling licks and bass chords gives the album’s heavier moments a sledgehammer effect. Several songs, particularly Wool and My Warm Bed have the same ominous sense of tension that characterised bands like Jawbox and Paint it Black.

   Skin Peeling delves into heavier territory with no frills, full throttle drumming, and the pace and vocals of hardcore punk. On this song the vocalist has a yelling akin to Tezz Roberts of Discharge. It makes for wonderfully powerful listening, and, I suspect, my new staple for days when I need a little motivation.



    I’ve Been Floating opens with an eerie sounding melody that sounds not quite synth, not quite guitar, and not quite bells. What’s more is the similarity to the quiet interlude moments of Sweat Loaf, by The Butthole Surfers (itself a hilariously demented cover of Sweet Leaf by Black Sabbath.) Either way it’s an appealing use of experimentation, and adds yet another flavour to the personality of the album.

    Here There Is No Gravity is a work that was made through toil, drug induced alienation and hard work. and has paid off, conquering despair like a diamond in the rough.


    Plastic’s future seems full of potential. My advice is to be daring and broaden their horizons by exploring more distorted jams, atmospheres, and blending of genres like they have shown signs of across the album. If they achieve this and develop their sound to stand out from their contemporaries (other grungy bands like Milk Teeth tread threateningly similar ground) then I would place my bets on Plastic being the next breakthrough UK rock outfit. 

   Plastic will be playing at the first Fuzz Thursday gig on March 22nd in Manchester at The Bread Shead, along side Sounds Like A Storm, Trojan Horse and Psyence

Listen to the album here
Review by Lawrence Peattie

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