I fell in love with Plastic’s grunge fest Here, There Is No Gravity last year. There’s been a few changes since then. So, on the release week of latest EP Drink Sensibly (review to follow), I caught up with Matty and Elliot for all the latest news.
Simple things first, where are you guys from and how did you meet?
Matty: Well, me and Elliot were in a band before this one and then studied together. We met Dan from playing with his old band and Sam sent us a message when we said we were auditioning .
Last year saw the release of your first album Here, There Is No Gravity, how was it received?
Elliot: We didn’t really break with it, but people liked it when it came out. The way things worked out weren’t great.
Matty: Yeah, we went through four PR companies – the album is good we just got a bad hand. The proof was in the last try with the fourth company, we got loads of sick reviews but half the album was out – the hype left after people had heard half of it.
You’ve recently had some changes to the band line-up, how has that affected your writing process?
Matty: It’s more confident definitely, having a one guitar live set up forces you into a corner where the weight of a good song has to be there you can’t hide. Our new stuff is weirder but poppier at the same time, like the choruses are miles catchier and mature, but there’s a big Drug Church and Pixies influence. I yell more and do spoken stuff in a lot of our new stuff, but there’s a big Weezer/Green Day classic influence. I think we’ve found our feet with Sam and Dan.
This week sees the release of your latest EP Drink Sensibly, what was the inspiration behind it?
Matty: Life really. They just seem to be about being in a bit of a mess! I think it’s quite joyous sounding, it vaguely nods in the direction we’re going in with Sam and Dan.
Who came up with the idea behind latest single “Spit”’s video?
Matty: Dan did, I think, we just wanted it all to have a theme.
Was it fun to make?
Matty: It was an excuse to drink but yeah it was hilarious I’m glad we didn’t do a bog standard performance video.
This week you are also embarking on a Spring tour, is this your first time in the current line up that you’ll be spending a lot of time together? Is it hard work keeping everyone happy?
We’ve been jamming for like four months or more. Now we’re thinking more about what’s after this EP because that EP is mine and Elliot’s songs; the new stuff is something I think everyone has had a part in writing and we’re getting on really well so we’ve got to a point where we’re all mates. I’m not throwing shade on our old at all but things are more in order now and it feels more positive.
Who will be on your playlist?
Weezer’s Blue Album we went through, all of Colour & The Shape by Foo Fighters has, Rage Against the Machine, The Smashing Pumpkins and cheesy 80s songs.
What’s your live show like?
Matty: Intense but with a very pop element that you can’t ignore. Last night a guy said we sound like a mix of Nirvana, Oasis, Green Day and The Sex Pistols so I was pretty happy!
What do you hope people will come away with from one of your shows?
Hmmm, just with a sense that there’s good stuff out there with an honesty that I think people shy from, we sound confident because it works now. The Brian Jonestown Massacre are an example of like a wholesome movement in the sense of something just happens and it’s fucking good. It’s just honest what we do and we wanna make a lot of it so the more people that the easier it becomes.
How do you feel about the music industry currently? With so many great venues closing down, the demise of Pledge Music and such, how do you keep positive and motivated?
Matty: I feel like we’re going through a standstill at the moment in of what’s shoved in your face, I mean look at Leeds, we love Foo Fighters but it feels like they just play every year nearly. Other than that it’s just all pop on the big stages. Money’s a big thing when you’re in a band, I just hope one day we make enough to get by.
What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Matty: We’ve got a bunch of new songs, but we’re going to hold off for a while after this EP but we’ll put something out this year definitely. For now we’re just gonna play for most the year now and try and play as much as possible!
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