London Plane unleashes dark pleasures with 'Bright Black' LP
17 June 2022
Newsdesk
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Friday brings the release of the much-anticipated ‘Bright Black’ album from London Plane, one of the most intriguing collectives to emerge from New York’s bustling dark underground scene as of late. While the mental timestamp on these songs is absolutely 2022, the superb collection of invigorating tracks presented in what is their sophomore long-player will also surely delight fans of a number of seminal artists from the 70s through 90s. Bauhaus, The Runaways, Talking Heads, Violent Femmes and The Go-Gos all come to mind, as well as modern-day peers such as Japanese-Canadian buzzband The Linda Lindas and, at times, Alvvays and Dentist.
Surrounding the core of vocalists Jessica Cole and David Mosey (who also plays guitar), the band is rounded out with the talents of Bryan Garbe (drums), Grant Parker (bass), Julian Tulip (synths) and Kristofer Widholm (guitar). But let’s rewind a bit back to 2014 backstage at a tribute show to the recently deceased Lou Reed, when Psychedelic Furs' Joe McGinty introduced David to Jessica, who were both performing.
‘Bright Black’ is a diverse offering that features the band’s trademark female / male contrasting vocals – Mosey is on the darker end of the spectrum while Cole infuses this music with college rock vibes spanning several decades in itself. Among the inspirations for this album, the band notes personal tragedies, loss of life, despotism and an otherwise tumultuous political situation.
In fact, one of the singles that London Plane released during the infamous lockdown period - 'Watch That Madman Go – rejects the timeless tradition of state propaganda and totalitarianism, underlying how these evils are constant, pre-dating Russia’s horrifying invasion of Ukraine by just a few months.
This and the more recent 'Bright Black' single offer a glimpse of brightness amidst a persistent atmosphere of darkness, while 'Francesco (with versions in both English and Italian) is an extremely catchy number that sees the band firmly in territory generally occupied by The Damned, Bauhaus and a plethora of newer post-punk and darkwave artists.
Since debuting in 2018 with the album 'New York Howl', the band has signed with U.S. indie label Declared Goods label for this release, joining a multitude of trans-Atlantic artists.
The 'Bright Black' LP will be available across the board from all your favourite online stories and streaming platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.
CREDITS Produced by McKenzie Stubbert and David Mosey Recorded at House Under Magic Studio, Brooklyn Engineered by Danny Taylor at House Under Magic Studio, Brooklyn Mixed by Mckenzie Stubbert All lyrics by David Mosey Music By David Mosey, Kristofer Widholm, Grant Parker, Bryan Garbe Record cover art by Yoshi Sodeoka
