Plum - Light Years, Dark Years
- Written by Julia Lamb
The sound of Denver rock trio Plum is best described as ‘60s psychedelia meets ‘00s post-punk revival, a fusion of rock’s beginnings and its modern day state championed by bands like The Strokes and early Arctic Monkeys. Formed in late 2014, Plum are still fresh to the scene but are quickly proving they’re the real deal, having already opened for the likes of Win Butler, The Districts and Charles Bradley in their short time together as a band.
Their five-track debut EP goes by the name Light Years, Dark Years. The record takes you on a trip back to the ‘60s from its opening moments on title track ‘Light Years, Dark Years’, featuring an intro that screams Cream like nothing else. The screeching overdrive and crackling of cranked-to-11 guitar amplifiers feels as classic rock as it gets. It’s not before long that the sound is given a modern edge; upon arrival of the lead vocals, which are velvety smooth yet full of attitude, Plum start to establish a hybrid sound of their own. This sound takes different turns across the EP, from the comparatively mellow and poppy ‘Love Is In The Air’ to the drawn out, hallucinatory ‘Cosmic Vice’ - both of which clearly take a note of inspiration from The Beatles’ explorative 1966 album Revolver. The EP closes with ‘Hypnagaga’, perhaps the band’s most modern sounding track that builds from a repetitive guitar riff into a colossal close.
Light Years, Dark Years makes for a refreshing listen with its high-energy, infectiously catchy rock-out numbers. This is music that begs to be heard live.