PLASTIC GLASS

Image by Ricky Atterby

DAMIAN ROBINSON FINDS OUT WHAT THE SUNDERLAND INDIE ROCKERS HAVE IN STORE WITH THEIR NEW SINGLE, GOING AWAY

Talking with musicians it’s often interesting to find two opposing thoughts when considering how to follow up a well-received single. On the one hand, there can be the feeling of heightened confidence that follows the praise others provide to your work (and therefore a desire to build on the momentum quickly); on the other, there can be the slight paralysis which comes from the self-doubt of wondering if you can reach those heights again.

Often falling into the extremes of emotions, a well-received single can be just as damaging for future output as it can be useful. There is however, as Sunderland indie rockers Plastic Glass prove, seemingly a third way: you can record as much as you can altogether in one great creative moment.

Hot on the heels of previous impressive single Let Me Know, the band’s new single, Going Away, finds them reaching a real peak in performance. Compounded by a pounding bassline, pronounced vocals and a well-constructed narrative about modern-day relationships, Going Away mixes the machine gun guitars of early Clash with the spite and wit of the Arctic Monkeys to produce a single that is as punchy as it is match-fit. Coming in at under three minutes, there’s no fat at all to chew on; like a prize fighter, it gets in, does the job and gets out.

“As it happens we recorded Going Away at exactly the same time as Let Me Know back in December 2019,” confirm the band when asked about the difficulty of following up Let Me Know. “We started playing both of them live at the same time last Summer, so they started to develop together.”

Going Away is focused on the interplay of human relationships, as well as the demand for personal reinvention, as they explain. “The track focusses in on being around the same set of people for years and years but constantly being let down and then moving away, finding a new scene, a new group of friends.”

GOING AWAY IS FOCUSED ON THE INTERPLAY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS, AS WELL AS THE DEMAND FOR PERSONAL REINVENTION

The strong narrative of Going Away is also supported by its precise production; a sound the band are keen to recreate when playing at their sell out show at Sunderland’s Independent on Saturday 7th November. “We were buzzing that it sold so quickly, they’re such small intimate shows so we were hopeful of a sell-out but when it actually happened, on the same night, it was mental.” Another show on Sunday 8th November has since been added due to demand.

A prospective tour is already being lined up for next year. “We’ve got loads of shows pencilled in for 2021, it’s just a waiting game and as soon as we’re allowed there’ll certainly be a UK-wide run of shows, hopefully including our April headliner in Sunderland working with national promoter This Feeling.” The band are already working on Going Away’s follow up, with material written during the early stages of lockdown. “We spent our time together writing and developing a couple of new songs, so hopefully you’ll get to hear them at some point in the future.”

If following a strong single is hard, God only knows how hard it must be to follow an even stronger follow up…

Plastic Glass release Going Away on 7th November. They play Independent, Sunderland on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th November www.plasticglass.band