BETA
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Neon Plastix have always been one of my favorite New Rave bands of all time. Their chemistry is batshit crazy; Patrick's frantic and energetic vocals fit extremely well with their sound, Danny's drumming give each track an explosive and uncontrollable energy unmatched when compared to other New Rave bands, Phil and Kate's fantastic guitar riffs and hooks are catchy and slick, and the synths are the cherry on top that complete their sound. This entire album is undoubtedly loads of high energy, danceable, and outright fun.
When I say they're outright fun, I really mean it. The band never seem to take themselves seriously. They're not the kind of band to deliver profound and meaningful messages within their songs, they're just making the best of their time with what they have. The record's opener, 'Halfway To Love', should prove that. Right after the opener, we're listening to the single that the band is most known for. 'On Fire' is essentially Need For Speed: ProStreet's anthem; and I suppose the track hits even harder when you're going 175 MPH in ProStreet.
The weakest tracks run back to back, from track 3 to 5. These tracks aren't all too memorable, which is quite unfortunate considering 'Gentlemen's Gold', the only single from this album that's in this weak run. They bring out a synthpoppier and electroclash-esque sound, but they sacrifice the high amounts of energy they had with the tracks we listened prior to this.
Luckily, Danny puts his hi-tats through another torture session and brings the energy back into their sound, because the run from 'Death To Disco' to 'Neon Invasion' is just excellent. The uncontainable amounts of energy and fun really shine here; tracks like ‘Dream’ and ‘Prick Tease’ basically sum up the genre. And then, to close it all off, they take spacey synths and guitars and blend them together with the fast-paced drums. The execution pays off, since it’s one of the best on the album. It’s also easily one of the most melodic tracks, perhaps the band decided to take themselves just a tad seriously to put out something this incredible.
My only complaint that brings this record down a bit is the production and mixing. It gets a bit muddy in a couple of areas, most prominently on 'Death To Disco', which could've been spruced up to sound a lot cleaner. But other than that, this is a well executed and heavily underrated record that could’ve gotten Neon Plastix to take over the world. If only it was released 2 years prior, as New Rave was pretty much dead by 2010.
