Les Plastiscines
LP 1

THE REVIEW

Oh gods of rock'n'roll, you who entrusted me with the task of reviewing the Plastiscines, give me now the strength to see this burdensome duty through to the end...

I learned about these four Parisian gals about a month ago when they were brought to my attention, not exactly for their musical merits, by my bassist. Definitely intrigued, I went to watch the video for their single "Loser", and soon after I procured their debut for Virgin, lazily titled "LP 1".

How can one speak poorly of four attractive, fashionable twenty-somethings with a passion for garage-punk? For instance, by saying that there are genuinely few explosive tracks on their record. The single "Loser" is one of the cuter ones, and honestly, I found it fun to hear this genre in French. I recommend all the guys to check it out on youtube, to admire the singer's brazen "Parisianism", rather clumsy with her black Les Paul, yet overall irresistible. Then there's the instrumental "Pop in Pop out", vaguely Kill Bill-esque, a decidedly nonsensical yet cute track. The same nonsensical vein is found in "Zazie fait de la biciclette", another track from the album which amused me the most. Finally, there's the track I definitely liked, the last one, the punkish "Under control", with its infectious "Oh ah!" that repeats until it gets stuck in your head. I also recommend watching the video "live in Bordeaux" available on YouTube, where the frontman (or rather, frontgirl) takes off her guitar and sings wearing a splendid "I Love NY" t-shirt.

They cite among their main influences the Libertines and the Strokes, two bands I love, but honestly, it must be said that these influences are not very noticeable (much more noticeable are the Ramones and White Stripes, but in a lighter version) and that the Plastiscines' style is much less pop than they would have you believe. If you love garage, you will probably find them more to your liking. Overall, they deserve 2 and a half stars, but I feel generous and give them 3. And now, debaserians, feel free to slaughter me. Vive le rock.