The Fantastic Plastics
Invasion
Altercation Records
The newly-released EP from Brooklyn’s retro-snyth-pop sensation, The Fantastic Plastics, picks up in the exact same shag-covered TV room as where their 2015 LP Devolver left off.
Truth be told, I’ve not been this fascinated by a record since Gary Numan dropped The Pleasure Principle back in ‘79. And therein lies the honest beauty and the pure magic of The Fantastic Plastics – their music is gloriously authentic.
While so many of their contemporaries promise retro-flavored entrées, only to pull a musical switcheroo three songs into the ol’ setlist, this combo possesses the cojones to actually deliver – from start to finish. In fact, when you open one of their songs in iTunes, the genre description reads “New Wave” – perfect!
In true Twilight Zone fashion, The Fantastic Plastics preaches the future – from a pulpit in the past. But oddly, their quirky, high-energy, Coleco-inspired style works – extremely well.
The record kicks off nicely with the joystick-pounding, “Teleport.” This ultra-infectious, angst-filled, “us against them” anthem declares, They tried to take us away. They tried to make us obey. They tried to keep us down. They never understood our New Wave sound. Shakespearean, for sure.
“TV Head” carves up crisp commentary reminiscent of The Tubes’ Remote Control era, while “The New Elite” is smeared with Weird Al’s “Dare to be Stupid”-style fingerprints.
Consisting of barely a dozen or so words (including, “After while crocodile”), the slightly more guitar-driven “Braintrust” is one of the edgier-sounding tunes of the five-song collection. However, with its “Are We Not Men”-type sensibility, “Clockwork” may be the pick of the litter.
In sum, kudos to band members, Tyson Plastic (guitar / vocals), Dylan Plastic (drums / bass) and the super-fetching Miranda Plastic (synth / vocals) for creating THE feel-good record of the year. BRAVO!
