Plastic Barricades – Self-Theories (2020)
As if the 90s were so long ago… Well, actually it was two decades ago, but somehow it seems that the so-called Britpop is one of the memories of that decade that somehow faded away. The concept that guitar-driven melodies worked so well has somehow been pushed to the background and many bands and solo artists are drawing their inspiration somewhere else. But, should that be the case? Not really, particularly if you ask the London duo of Dan Kert and Paul Love who work under the name of Plastic Barricades. Judging by their latest album Self-Theories, the guys, along with their helping hands are right on track of the (rightful) Britpop revival!
First of all, what do they mean by self-theories? As they put it, “many choices that may eventually lead to life-defining decisions are fuelled by our internal self-theories. We create and nurture stereotypes about ourselves from an early age and these stereotypes shape our thoughts, feelings and behaviour for the rest of our lives. However, we are not what we think we are, we are what we do. We are our actions!”
Sounds like quite a lofty concept, but Plastic Barricades make it work. If there are any plastic barricades put in front of them, they certainly bring them down with this album. “One cloudy morning you wake up, all feeling lonely and out of luck. You’ve lost your track. You spend your life while trying to determine how to spend your life. You can’t decide” – so goes ‘Game of Numbers’ for example.
Kert and Love show that there’s more than just words behind their concept, but turning to the music part are the words matched by a sound? Here, the answer is quite a favourable yes as Plastic Barricades show that they have an excellent knack for a good melody bringing guitars and vocals to the forefront. What’s more, the more Self-Theories evolves as an album, the more it sticks in the memory. Just like a good sugar rush it simply asks for more. If Britpop comes back in a big style, Plastic Barricades might as well be one of the bands to revive it.
For more from Plastic Barricades, check out their official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
