Toasted Plastic - June Highs

01. Repair
02. Empty Hands
03. Tremor Easily
04. Isolation
05. Looming
06. Last Rites
07. Greater Thinking
08. Traced

Toasted Plastic have an interesting way of taking a comfortable sound and twisting it just enough into unfamiliar territory. The framework is familiar enough - midtempo emo songs with slightly out of tune vocals at times and a yelly, shouted vocal delivery - but something about this record stands out to me. I'm a huge fan of gritty, dirty production, and the guitar tones on this record are definitely doing it for me. There is a youthful energy that’s captured here that I think is hard to replicate honestly. Tons of emo bands have emerged in the past few years, and it’s easy to lump every guitar noodle into the same derivative pile, but if one looks closer, there are shining moments hiding in these releases. The drums on this record are also a definite highlight for me, as they twist and turn around some of the otherwise straightforward musical moments and make them sparkle. While not mindblowingly original, this record isn’t completely derivative either, and I think Toasted Plastic prove that there might be a few more bands to emerge from this sometimes stale genre that are offering something special.

Reviewed by Justin.

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