Plasticsoul “Therapy”

We first stumbled across Plasticsoul when we read a review on a power pop specialist website. Then when we saw that their Facebook page quite simply described their interests as making “music that doesn’t suck” we knew we had to check them out.

Opening song “My Heavy Soul” actually caught us by surprise initially. It’s a delicate, acoustic number with a gentle melody. The album then really kicks off with the totally infectious and Beatles esque title track “Therapy”. Let’s face it, all the greatest power pop bands (Cheap Trick, Enuff Z’ Nuff and Jellyfish to name a few) have taken their lead from the fab four. Their influence is certainly prominent on tracks like “The King Of Hash” and the Eastern flavoured “Babylon”.

The album hits an early high with the awesome “All Died Pretty”. A track that could easily feature on a Redd Kross album…take it from us, that’s a big compliment! Together with songs like the frantic “Monkey On A Stick” and “Keeping A Light On” it sees the band add a bit of extra crunch and garage feel to their power pop sound. Then “Come Down From Your Rain Cloud” is the perfect mix of 70’s glam and Oasis!

The other thing that lifts this album above the ‘normal’ power pop style is the quality of the song writing. Numbers like “In Her Raincoat” are perfect pop songs but stay well clear of being twee. Even when they throw in a bit of a Latin flavour on “The Girl Of Many Tribes” it just leaves you feeling like you’re laying on a beach on a glorious day. The album then ends with “Biff Bang Pow” a rocking power popper that Cheap Trick would be proud of.

You just need to have a look at the bands referenced in this review (Beatles, Redd Kross, Enuff Z’ Nuff and Cheap Trick) to know how good this album is. If you love your power pop with lots of bounce and a little bit of crunch then this is just perfect. Definitely one of the best pure pop releases we’ve heard for some time and a definite must buy.