Plastic Handgun
Involuntary Memories
(self-released)
Jangley keys and a guitar swell opens into a laconic back beat of first tune “Introverts†on the new Plastic Handgun album, Involuntary Memories. Mark Di Giovanni is the sole creator here, a multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/songwriter/producer.
He once again introduces his guitar, mid-way this time, on the quicker “Eustachian Tube,†shifting gears in a way that I’m not sure works, as I was digging the chunky metallic dance beat before the song just ambles into guitar flangyness and a crinkling distortion at its tail. We get some more of a solid dance beat (slower than on “Tube,†but really sly and cool) on “Grave Spinning II†with solid slicing guitar taking over. The addition of big, tough, single-note color to the overall driving beat makes this the first song on Involuntary Memories that really works for me. There is a marching beat, single-guitar call to another body part tune, “Capillary Vessel.†Things get really loud at the end here, and I do feel he overstays once again, but Di Giovanni’s strength, defined here perfectly, is in how he layers guitars and sounds over a good beat. Di Giovanni is back to singing on the swirling “The Dust You Kick Up Is Too Fine,†a song short and sweet and the light echo guitars on “Mirror Stage†sound unlike anything else we hear here and are a welcome tone change ender.
Overall this is a tight, instrumentally-laden brew of colorful, sometimes a little-too-long tunes from Plastic Handgun’s bag of tricks.