Plastic Animals - Pictures From The Blackout

Pictures From The Blackout by Edinburgh's Plastic Animals kicks off with the ringing post punk guitars and aggressive bass notes of "Ghost".  And by the time the last note of the stately and grandly swelling "Holy Daze" fades, you've heard the racing Krautrock of "Colophon", the spacey dream pop of "Sigh-Fi", the moody shoegaze of "Yellowcraig", the dense post-punk guitar romp of "Portal" the wonderful, glistening grunge-pop of "Diane", the surf/Kraut/dream blend of "Demmin", and the lovely dream pop of "Burial Party".  The band labels their music 'atmospheric sludge rock', but I consider it delicious indie rock ice cream sundaes with nuts, whipped cream and a cherry.  The range, versatility and skill displayed by the band is breathtaking, and the attention to little details rewards repeated listens.  If you like your post punk a bit more on the pop side, you may find the album backloaded, but no slight to the earlier songs is intended or deserved.  For a modest price, Pictures From The Blackout delivers a lot of pleasure.

Plastic Animals are Mario Cruzado, James Lynch, Dave Wark, Ben Slade, and Jean Michel Morin.  Pictures From The Blackout is out now via Song By Toad Records on vinyl and as a digital download.







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REVIEW: The Band in Heaven - Sleazy Dreams

Today's exploration of a recent 7" recording focuses on an enthralling twist on the shoegaze and dreampop genres, so it probably is fitting that it comes from a place where you wouldn't expect to look for this kind of music. On Sleazy Dreams, West Palm Beach's The Band In Heaven delivers a sludgy, droning, psychedelic soundtrack topped by deadpan vocals. Here is the title track, "Sleazy Dreams" --

The Band In Heaven - "Sleazy Dreams" from the band in Heaven on Vimeo.

The Band In Heaven is Ates Isildak, Lauren Dwyer, Jay Tillman, and Ryan Burk. Musically, the band may remind the listener of Austin psychedelic outfit Black Angels, but lyrically they are in their own place of dark dreams infused with some less than complimentary views on organized religion. The 7" consists of four songs. "Sleazy Dreams", with its big, relentless beat, and "Summer Bummer are the most uptempo. "Sludgy Dreams", a video for which is below, is a hazy take on Aleister Crowley's Book of Lies.

Sleazy Dreams is released on Chicago's HoZac Records. The above track and the album closer, below, give you a good feel for the album, so if you decide to take the plunge, you can be comfortable about what you're getting. However, you can stream all four tracks at the end of this post. In case you didn't focus on it when you waded into this review, the cover art features dogs costumed for Halloween, and is one of my favorite album covers in a long time.

"Sludgy Dreams"

the band in Heaven - Sludgy Dreams from the band in Heaven on Vimeo.

The Band In Heaven will be playing at SXSW next month.

You can stream the entire 7" here:


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