Track Of The Day Plastic Estate
Since the 90s, but I’d say the 80’s with Young Marble Giants, responsible for one of my fave albums ever, several bands from Wales, have had a special place in my heart, from the warped psych-poppers Super Furry Animals, the oddly psych-folksters Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and last but surely not least the superb rockers Manic Street Preachers.
Various facets of pop, never dull and predictable, always distinctive, eclectic and imaginative.
Over the past years, a very promising crop of new bands are coming into the limelight, some based around Cardiff’s Libertino Records label like Adwaith, Silent Forum and Ilu, other more shoegaze, dream pop-orientated like Lights That Change, Perfect Body, Glass Arcades and Gwenno.
Both hailing from the capital and influenced by the dark synth-laden new wave sound of the ’80s, with a fair amount of personality and songwriting talent, are Private World, already featured over here, and Plastic Estate.
Precisely the latter 5-piece band is going to release today, June 14th, their sophomore self-produced single “Cremation” via all the usual streaming platforms.
“A short-lived detour from our usually synth-centric sound with guitars featuring more than the likes of our first release, ‘Apathy’” the group describes it.
A song about a life filled with conflict, isolation, and abandonment that leads one lost soul to take drastic measures, “Cremation” uncoils strumming guitar riffs and jangly melodies chiming throughout, underpinned by jaunty drums awash by billowing swathes of wistful synth, to instill a woozy sense of dire longing bolstered by effortlessly persuasive yet aching vocals floating overhead infused with profound disbelief, awe and a presentiment of disgrace. Only for a few seconds, a dense pulsing dismal bassline makes its way through the instrumentation in the foreground echoing a sudden grave, defiant voice, but for then to readily blend with sparkling guitar chords, haunting filigrees and spacious, radiant synth drifts oozing sorrowful resignation “Still a rising tide will ruin us all, Will ruin us all”.
An utterly gripping four minutes of superb poignant and evocative new wave from an increasingly promising band. Keep a close eye on these guys.
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