Pitch Perfect
  • Pitch Perfect
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Black Plastic - tapejarai

6/12/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
Black Plastic 

TAPEJARA
self-released; 2013

4.0 out of  5

By Sean Dennison
When I have conversations about drum and bass music, I don't want to talk about mollied up ravers in a cosmic sound land in some city stadium or Midwest field, I want to talk about two guys making Back From The Grave-style rock with a drum and bass. UK-based Black Plastic is Ben Le Marchant on bass and Josh Shrives on drums. Allegedly recorded for the price of a cheese sandwich and a can of Red Stripe (Jamaican-style lager and I bet half of you just added that to your list of impress-buys). After glancing at their Facebook, Luke Tomkins is included on guitar duties, and all three members share vocal responsibilities. They didn't tell us this, way punk.

TAPEJARA! (a Tupi word meaning "old being,” which is used to identify a winged dinosaur with a wicked crest on its head, obviously the precursor to the mohawk) kicks of with "Thirteen Planets.” The track is filled with crunchy bass, appropriate amounts of howling and swooning fuzz. Control and release, control and release - the track goes from rocking to rolling and back again in just under three minutes. It's a fantastic introduction to an album that makes no apologies for its scuzzy production, nor the erratic way it plays with the listener's feelings.

Black Plastic can get poppy, like in the Halloween-inspired "Needles,” which is great for people unfamiliar with the genre. Other tracks like "Burnin'" and "Turnaway" provide the appropriate amount of sewage vocals and grungy sentiments for potential converts, while remaining at slower tempos than the other songs. But Black Plastic's main thing is abrasive, sometimes outright dangerous, trashadelica. The rough bastard blues of "Slide (inSide)", the violent psych aggression of "Replace Me,” TAPEJARA is not a safe listen by any stretch of the imagination. Hell, even the weak tracks are discomforting. "Freude (Interlude)" uses backwards recordings that's cool for one minute but drags on for another four, and the closer "Make Me (Deaf, Dumb and) Blind)" is dominated by piano (which is a terrible choice of instrument for this sort of music) for the first five or so minutes before devolving into a noisily experimental coda.

Most garage bands these days are content to recycle old formulas. It's a genre that elevates the adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" to Olympian heights, but every now and then it's refreshing to see a group of lads attempt to disrupt the genre. Black Plastic doesn't always succeed, but by Roky Erickson do they rock trying and their successes are right up there with today's torchbearers. 
Become a Fan
bandcamp
2 Comments
Frohawk
6/12/2013 01:34:25 am

Great album! Though my favorite songs happen to be the interlude make me deaf dumb and blind and that bonus track, for their weirdness.

Reply
FRIZZ
6/12/2013 03:41:23 am

kinds of reminds me of iceage

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by pitchperfect158
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
© Pitch Perfect 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Pitch Perfect
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact