The Plastic Pals
Album: Turn The Tide
Label: Polythene
Tracks: 13
Website: http://www.theplasticpals.se/

"Turn The Tide" is an example of what used to be known as adult orientated rock, purveyed by the likes of Fleetwood Mac during their "Rumours" era. On the lighter side of the rock genre with a singer-songwriter styled thread stitching the whole thing together.

In all honesty, I found this an album easier to listen to in the car, an album that forms a soundtrack to your life, rather than one I wanted to sit and listen to for its own sake and whilst The Plastic Pals are a difficult band to fault, they are also not an easy band to praise.

They certainly know their way around their instruments, the songs are strong, well performed and not without moments of both humour and heart. There's certainly a lot that's out there that is worse than this, but there is also a lot that's better.

Now as a soundtrack to your life, painting, driving, cooking, it's great and in that appraisal, I'm not being sarcastic. When I'm looking for music to work to I'm looking for something that's not going to absorb me, or constantly wander over to to knock it onto the next track. It may be damning with, perceived, feighnt praise, but actual Plastic Pals and "Turn The Tide" fit that bill perfectly.

Neil King