Plastic Poetry – Post-Romantic Collections, Vol. 1 (2020)
Plastic Poetry used their time during early lockdown to write, record and produce their latest EP Post-Romantic Collections, Vol. 1. This collection of songs deals with the loneliness many feel in modern society as well as early adulthood. It also considers the fear that comes from facing an uncertain future.
The tracks making up the collection were originally stand-alone singles, but the striking common thread through each draw them into an EP. Since coming together in 2017, Victor Deschamps (vocals), Adrien Bordes (guitar), Jamie Linskell (drums) and Andrew Scott-George (bass) have been building a solid reputation on the live scene. When the pandemic hit, they started releasing a song every two weeks on YouTube eventually leading to this collection.
The EP starts with ‘There’s Nothing Left For Us But To Grow Old’ which has a fun piano line that leads you into the track. There is an easy vibe to the opening of the song that continues with Deschamps’ vocals. The flow of the music and vocals have you swaying lightly to them. This song has an almost surf feel to the movement adding a relaxed feeling. The lyrics continue the easy vibes of the melody and vocals as you are drawn into a tale of fun and games.
‘Like Clockwork’ has a thread of darkness in the opening notes. There is a melancholy resting in the lower levels of the melody. The vocals also take a darker turn as Deschamps fills you with a detached apathy. The lyrics continue the apathy and bring up a sense that speaking out is futile as you are just another cog in the mechanism of life. The chorus has an airiness that whips past you like mist rolling down the road.
The lighter tones of ‘Solitude Means No Harm’ have a nostalgic vibe to them. You can almost hear the sepia tones in the music. The hazy tone of the vocals adds to this feeling like you are remembering something from long ago. This could also be a sense of the days melding together and turning into an indeterminable expanse of time. The song is a catchy sonic representation of what many people felt during the initial lockdowns.
The next track is ‘All I Hear is Panic!’ which has a completely different vibe to the last track. The tone of the melody has this great groove to it that has you moving to the rhythm. There is also something a little psychedelic about the notes that makes you think of swirling colours. The vocals are a great middle layer that creeps around your head and lead you through the dancefloor of melodic elements.
‘Requiescat’ has an expansive opening full of wide piano lines and some serious old-school vibes. The expanse of the melody comes through with the vocals as well. You can’t help but get lost in the vocals as you are taken through a requiem inspired by Oscar Wilde’s Requiescat poem. The higher vocal harmonies on the track add a haunting feeling to the song, but this only seems to make it more enjoyable. There is a gentle crash to the melody that leads you to a wonderful piano line.
The EP ends with ‘The Lens of Retrospect’ which throws you into nostalgia from the first note. The light leading opening has a playfulness hidden in the notes as it fills you with a sense of remembrance. Deschamps’ vocals grab your hand and lead you through a reflection. There are some rock tones resting in the lower levels of the melody that add an interesting depth to the song.
Plastic Poetry fills you with nostalgia as they look at loneliness with their latest EP Post-Romantic Collections, Vol. 1. Using a range of melodic elements that stir nostalgia and emotions, you are lead exactly where the band wants you to go.
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