New Artist to Listen For: Plushgun

With their catchy choruses and electronic beats, Plushgun is a new band soon to be on everyone's radar. I recently received a copy of their EP for review, a preview of what's to come on their debut full-length due out January 2009. Though it's only four songs, each has become ingrained in my head long after listening.

Opening track, "Just Impolite" was the first song written by Daniel Ingala in his Brooklyn apartment and then posted on MySpace, creating quite a buzz. (You can listen to "Just Impolite" here.) Eventually RagTag Productions heard some of his tunes and approached Ingala about using his music for their web-tv series, "We Need Girlfriends." Low and behold, everything spiraled from there. Plushgun hit #1 on OurStage.com's Alternative Rock channel, where music fans rate the music posted. Soon Ingala recruited band members to perform live shows and the rest, as they say, is history.

While "Just Impolite" tells the story of chasing a seemingly doomed relationship with lyrics "I've called you nine too many times/I'm not obsessed, just impolite" the upbeat music throughout the song makes you think otherwise. "14 Candles" is a bit slower, again the tale of a failed relationship as Ingala sings of isolation, despite the couple in the song still loving each other.

My favorite on the EP is "How We Roll." With biting lyrics and fitting musical accompaniment, this song epitomizes high school angst. Somewhat reminiscent to Bowling For Soup's popular hit "1985," Ingala sings about being outcasts throughout junior high and high school: "Hey cheerleaders, we're superior/We're only losers til we reach the end of senior year/We never comb our hair, our clothes are out of fashion . . . " It's one of those songs that you wonder, "Did he just say that?" before replaying the song over again to realize you heard each lyric correctly.

Though the EP had only four tracks there is much material and depth within each song to listen to. Be sure to check out Plushgun on MySpace if my brief review intrigued you and pick up their album when it hits shelves in January!