NYC-based collective London Plane have announced details of their new album Bright Black released via the Declared Goods label on the 17th of June – a collection of tracks that are electrified, possessed, pulsing and relentless.
The rumbling and visceral noirish post-punk of title track ‘Bright Black’, is shot through with a life-affirming chorus that you can hold onto, garnished with glimmering switchblade guitars and driving percussion, it clambers through the darkest of tunnels and into the light. “At once an anti-war song and a simple, hopeful sentiment or little prayer to whoever is listening (the universe, the gods, you). This is an expression of brightness amidst the invasion of darkness, both internal and external, imminent and eventual, setting the tone for the album as a whole.”
The six-piece’s earlier single ‘Watch That Madman Go‘ is also highly relevant given current world events. A rebuke of propaganda, this targets the grand tradition of political dictatorship. Directed by Greg Vegas, the video features some of the 20th century’s most despised despots – from the Nazis to Ceausescu.
London Plane also presents ‘Francesco (Italiano)‘, a haunting goth-dance anthem that channels the original ‘Francesco‘ single through a Latin prism. Equally inspired by a cloth-covered 1970s diary by an immigrant, found among personal belongings discarded on a New York curb and the hospitalization of Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy on the eve of his NYC performance, ‘Francesco’ spins the tale of Catholic Saint, stigmatist, levitator and mystic Padre Pio as a young man.
London Plane is made up of David Mosey (guitar and vocals), Jessica Cole (vocals), Bryan Garbe (drums), Grant Parker (bass), Julian Tulip (synths) and Kristofer Widholm (guitar). Their roots trace back to 2014 backstage at a tribute show to the recently deceased Lou Reed when Psychedelic Furs‘ Joe McGinty introduced David to Jessica, both of whom were performing.
Following the success of their debut album ‘New York Howl’, released in 2018, the band methodically worked on new material in 2019 and early 2020. “The result is ‘Bright Black’, an album packed with hope in the face of cultural, sociopolitical, and ecological devastation, screaming a passionate battle cry back to the pop music spectrum. In effect, a hook-filled Avant-rock study in context and contradictions.”
The full Bright Black album will be released on June 17 and can already be pre-ordered via Bandcamp.
Group photos by Alice Teeple. Duo photo by David Flores
