Plastic Crimewave Sound: Plastic Crimewave Sound

This twin guitar and electronics 4 piece band hail from Chicago and this is their third release despite the eponymous title. The Plastic Crimewave organisation also produces a magazine called (after Arthur Brown) the Galactic Zoo Dossier. It also runs the Secret History of Chicago Music strip and radio show and the Million Tongues Festivals. The band of the same name are a heavy punk-metal space rock band – kind of Hawkwind without the subtlety. As is the form with space/psych bands ever since Gong the members have charming monikers like "Lux" and "Skog Device" to accompany their real personas, although alas the wonderfully named "Cat Chow" is no longer with them. Unlike their No Wonderland album from 2006, the sound on this album is quite garagey, with a cavernous openness about the space in which the stripped-down heavy riffing takes place. You can almost imagine it having been recorded in an ancient limestone cave rather than a studio.

The aptly named behemoth, "Planet Crushing" opens the album with a raging voice and brain-numbing bass riff pierced by searing guitar chords and oscillating synths emulating a Nik Turner styled sax warble. There's a nice closure and restart in the middle making the whole track reminiscent of Hawkwind's classic Masters of the Universe. Track two does indeed boogie in a head-banging, hair-shaking kinda way, whilst Shockwave River kicks off with a classic rock and roll riff which quickly disintegrates into a an intense multi-riff cacophony sounding like Black Sabbath on speed without any rehearsal. The second half brings little relief to the full face-on approach with "Punched" mashing the density to even greater depths. Only on the last track "Pasture" do we see a significant change of tempo with the mellow, harmonica-accompanied psychedelic opening sequence calming things down. The intermediate sequence, Dead Sun, has an early Pink Floyd feel whilst Pasture Jam completes the 15 minute piece in an anarchic fusion of synths, waves of percussion and grinding guitar.

A heady space-punk trip – must be great live in a small sweaty club in downtown Chicago.

Track Listing
1. (I am) Planet Crushing
2. Dead Island Boogie
3. Shockwave River
4. Punched in the face
5. The Pasture
a. We know
b. Dead sun
c. Pasture jam

Added: March 18th 2009
Reviewer: Richard Barnes
Score:
Related Link: Band's MySpace Page
Hits: 2016
Language: english

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