Resin
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Resin |
The Power Of Pop
October 2000
THE SUGARPLASTIC
RESIN
ESCAPE ARTIST
Art pop or pop artifice or whatever you want to call it arises whenever bands take the deliberately obtuse and often offbeat route to musical expression. Perversely enough, there is also a distinct element of child-like naivety that only serves to make modern art pop alienating and distancing even to a rabid powerpop follower.
Ben Eshbach, singer-songwriter-musician-producer of The Sugarplastic, is an artist that refuses to go down the path usually taken by today's pop stars. He shuns publicity, is uncomfortable playing 'live' and fails to comprehend the purpose of marketing and promoting a pop album. Eshbach just wants to make records.
With two albums under their belt viz. "Radio Jejune" (Sugarfix) and "Bang! The World Is Round" (DGC), the Sugarplastic have established themselves as art poppers of the first order, drawing upon such premium pop references as XTC, Monochrome Set, Eno and Wings to create delicate songs of wonder.
"Resin" finds The Sugarplastic at a new beginning, having negotiated themselves successfully out of their DGC contract and losing original drummer Josh Laner in the process but bringing in producer Andy (Soft Boys) Metcalfe and vaunted session drummer Pat (XTC's sublime "Oranges & Lemons") Mastelotto to plug in the gaps.
The primary strength of Resin is its remarkable continuity; the ability of its varied songs to mesh together as a singular whole - a thematic concept album even! "Resin" does find the Sugarplastic in a place not too dissimilar to that on its predecessor. Meaning that many sonic elements are repeated here, call it stylistic preferences or whatever you cannot deny the quality of songs like the infectious "Talk Back," the quirky "Little Ash Statue," the psychedelic-flavoured "Rosy Malarkey," the familiar guitar patterns of "Odium" and the rustic "Novelty Man."
"Resin" plays better as a sum of its parts, certain individual songs may be rather tedious and even odious but in their context, the entire work actually makes sense. 7.5
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[Thanks to Kevin Mathews]