Plasticland - Plasticland (Reissue) (1984/2014)

Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Plasticland emerged at a time when a new breed of East Coast and Midwest bands was reviving interest in '60s garage rock, while in California a handful of groups embraced psychedelia and folk-rock under the banner of the paisley underground. But even though Plasticland had a fair amount in common with both movements, at heart they were following a very different path -- at their best, Plasticland aspired to be the first American freakbeat group, seeking to re-create the brief but memorable era when British and European bands were mashing up R&B, proto-punk, and psychedelia into a gloriously volatile formula. Kicking off their debut album with a fuzz-laden cover of the Pretty Things' "Alexander," Plasticland were not afraid to wear their influences on their sleeve, and this album manages the remarkable feat of sounding powerfully addled and psychedelic with practically no hippie vibe to be found; the songs are superb evocations of classic freakbeat, roaring forth with soaring melodies that occasionally go into minor-key skydives and are punctuated by chimes, toy pianos, autoharps, or whatever arcane music-producing devices were on hand at the moment. "Disengaged from the World," "Sipping the Bitterness," "Pop! Op Drops," and "Euphoric Trapdoor Shoes" are as good as any of the vintage singles that influenced Plasticland, and the band's production is savvy, making use of classic engineering techniques that serve the songs well without allowing their paisley nostalgia to drown out the melodic elements of the songs. Most bands as preoccupied with a certain moment in rock & roll history tend to find themselves hoisted by the petard of their own obsessions, but Plasticland is that rare example of one such band getting it exactly right, and these speedy acid fantasies are a very potent good time.