April 07, 2021 | Writer: Eric Reyes
Ooh, dirty and experimental with a hard rock backing? It’s like these guys have been listening at my window.
Rock and spoken word are really hard to meld but New Plague Radio manages it easily. With a greater polish than would be expected from a risk-taking enterprise like this group, there’s none of the clumsiness found in many experimental tracks of a similar vein.
The attitude is rough, it’s gruff, and it’s unapologetic. The energy is so heavy, it took me back to the mosh pits of my high school years, but with that adrenaline and dopamine-fueled energy we were barely coming to grips with at the time. And it knows that. The vocals amp you, and ride every neurochemical wave you’re trying to make sense of as you’re listening in.
There’s enough breathing room between the stanzas that you’re able to vibe with the guitar. But it never leaves you hanging, instead it hooks you and keeps you addicted. Like a cup of coffee and a cigarette at 4am on the fifth night after you swore you’d go to sleep at a regular time and kick the habit.
If Beck met incubus and decided to have a love child. A lot to unpack there, I’ll leave you to it.