Plastic Operator Different Places
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Reviews Misc
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Thursday, 10 May 2007 |
Music Reviews Artist: Plastic OperatorTitle: 'Different Places'Label: Fine Day RecordsWebsite: http://www.plasticoperator.com
  Think electro-pop and you might think of names like Jean-Michel Jarre, Air, The Pet Shop Boys, Visage or Boards of Canada. Encapsulating varying aspects of all of these is Plastic Operator a band you’re sure to hear more about in the near future. On the back of successful EP and single releases, the band formed with the union of Mathieu Gendreau (electronics) and Pieter Van Dessel (vocals / electronics) have worked effortlessly to create their debut album entitled ‘Different Places’.
Indeed their backgrounds have played a key role in sculpting their collaborative efforts and two decades of hard graft has helped to define their unique savoir-faire. Album opener ‘The Pleasure Is Mine‘ is classic Plastic Operator and culminates all that the band is about. The track is filled with a harmonious rapture that mixes the classics of electronica with some simple organ melodies. Van Dessel’s robotic styled vocals are melodic and plod along in time engrossing the listener from the very beginning.
Tracks ‘Peppermint’ and ‘Folder’ step up the tempo to the album and communicate subject matter familiar to more modern times and are certainly songs for the 21st century. ‘Folder’ for example with its addictive drum and bass line will appeal to a far broader audience. Lines like: ’ That’s why I copy and paste, into you folder, into your folder’, which are quirky lines that make you smile are the kind of thing which are trademark to Plastic Operator.
‘Parasols’ is a beautiful track that is filled with melodic pop beats and synthesisers and is refreshing to the ear. Vocals courtesy of Sarah Ferri help to fill the mind with an overwhelming feel of sun light and summer. ’Parasols’ is in fact the only track on the album that offers a break from the colourless monotony of Van Dessel’s vocals and shows the potential this duo has for collaborations in the future.
The remaining tracks on the album, whilst all quite different in tempo quite clearly all share different stories. ‘Special Case’ talks of love and longing and missing the chance to hear the voice of that special person in your life. ‘Why Don’t You ?’, not a song about the popular kids TV program, but a track which deals with a rocky relationship and a defining change of direction..
A large proportion of the musical arrangement on this album has been expertly done and the blend of modern beats with varying symphonic melodies is sheer heaven. However, the flat, unchangeable, monotony of Van Dessel’s vocals is likely to only appeal to the true electronica fan.
Words By: Matt Clutton
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