On paper, it sounds like a pretty inspired idea. Four French girls inspired by the Strokes, Blondie, and the Ramones playing peppy pop-punk. The Plastiscines are those girls, and while their tight, tough sound is nice enough and their voices are suitably sweet and sassy, there's something missing. Maybe it's a sense of excitement that's lacking. There's never an unexpected moment on the album; everything is played under total control and the band takes few chances as they bash out their short, simple songs. It could be a lack of fun. The group is very earnest and almost dour. Songs like "No Way" and "Mister Driver" have a very dark feeling; minor chords and moody vocals abound elsewhere. Just because they're French and girls, they don't have to be airy and goofy, but a ray or two of sunshine on the album could only have helped break the overcast mood. The songs that try to be silly fall flat because the rest of the album is so serious; "(Zazie Fait de La) Bicyclette" aims for cute, and lands squarely on annoying. Those factors are a big part of the problem on the album, but what really ruins things is the nagging feeling that they are merely recycling Strokes songs. What's even worse is that every song sounds like a discarded idea for a Strokes song. If you are going to play ultra-stripped-down and simple chord-change rock, you need to invest it with some original personality and ideas, and the Plastiscines do neither.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo