NYC’s London Plane have exclusively unveiled to Backseat Mafia the scaling, anthemic title track to their forthcoming album ‘Bight Black’, out through Declared Goods on 17 June 2022. The track, available on Wednesday, 20 April 2022, is an exciting post-punk, new wave influenced slice of gothic-tinged pie, replete with scything, mountainous guitars and a thunderous, pounding, insistent rhythm that sets the pulse racing.
The single has the exciting euphoria of something dark, mysterious and enigmatic from the eighties – think of the essence of Bauhaus, a sprinkling of Killing Joke mixed with a dash of The Cure, resulting in something upgraded to our contemporary times. There is indeed a delicious gothic sparkle that winds its way through contemporaries such as Interpol, White Lies and their ilk, but London Plane have their own unique sound that fuses elements of disco, funk and pop with a dark steely spine and murderous intent. Bright black indeed.
For underneath the cold, crystalline waves of pure visceral sound, the intelligent and thoughtful themes are prescient for our troubled times. Frontman David Mosey explains,
‘Bright Black’ is at once an anti-war song and a simple, hopeful sentiment or a little prayer to whoever is listening (the universe, the gods, you), if there is no life after death, indeed if it “goes black”, then let it at least go “bright black”.
Indeed the track (and London Plane the band) captures all the haunting presence of a gothic undertow, with a dark tone and, antithetically, an inherent positivism at the heart. The music is statuesque, beautiful and stark. And at the end of the day, ‘Bright Black’ is perfect piece of gothic pop: choruses that rang out with melody, scaling immeasurable heights: indelible and catching. The sonorous Bowie-esque vocals and call and response melodies create something that is both exciting and fresh, while London Plane, as a band, magnificently draws upon an ultimately thoroughly satisfying musical and literary heritage.
Absolutely marvellous stuff.
The single, ‘Bright Black’, will be available to download and stream in all the usual sites from Wednesday, 20 April 2022.
The album ‘Bright Black’ is out on 17 June and can be pre-ordered or pre-saved here or through the link below:
The track follows on from two similarly exciting singles released earlier this year, as an amuse bouche to the album itself. ‘Francesco’ a haunting epic release with its revolving bass and jaunty darkness that positively swings with an almost disco thump and a Cabaret Voltaire/Neu! motorik beat:
‘Watch That Madman Go’ (a rebuke against propaganda and despotism) is a brooding, funky track with a visceral angular stab resting, again, on a bubbling liquid bass. Full of light and shade, elements of Talking Heads fuse with Echo and the Bunnymen:
Feature Photograph: Alice Teeple
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