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If you thought Real Sickies' last album Love Is For Lovers was a significant progression from their previous records, wait until you hear their new one! Under a Plastic Bag, the band's fifth album and first in nearly four years, is out now on Stomp Records. Engineered and produced by Joshua Wells (Autogramm, Lightning Dust), this album finds Real Sickies completely transcending their signature punk-pop sound. Ben and the gang really went for it on this release — incorporating influences ranging from late '70s/early '80s new wave & post-punk, '80s college radio, '90s alternative rock, and modern indie rock without straying too far from their classic punk and power pop roots. If the intention was to move things in a weirder, moodier direction, then clearly Wells was a perfect choice for a producer. Not surprisingly, Under a Plastic Bag is a genuine triumph. The band's flair for well-crafted hooks and anthemic choruses remains fully in tact, but this album offers way more variety and sophistication in songwriting than you'd ever expect from a Real Sickies record. If the band's earlier recordings tended to instantly grab you by the throat, this one pulls you in more gently and deliberately. You can't just listen to a song or two and predict what the rest of the album is going to be. A couple tunes like "Over Thought About It" and "Paralyzed" (the best song Teenage Head never wrote!) recall the Real Sickies of old. But for the most part, this album really breaks the mold. On songs such as "Wild Imagination" and "Destinations," you can really hear the more modern vibe the band was going for on this album. "Summer," perhaps my favorite track on the album, is pure pop that's redolent of the early '80s. "Never Going Back" hits that sweet spot where power pop meets '80s alt-rock. "Lost By a Landslide" sounds like something you might have heard on modern rock radio in the early 2000s. The band also does a wonderfully fresh & original interpretation of MOTO's classic "Choking on Your Insides."
Every great punk-pop band has to struggle with how to handle longevity. At some point, you can't continue to make the same record over and over. Love Is For Lovers was a sign that Real Sickies had ambitions beyond three-chord punk. Under a Plastic Bag takes that progression and accelerates it at a rate no one could have foreseen. Working with a producer who not only understands the band but also has a great feel for how to make new wave rock sound relevant and current in the 21st century, Real Sickies have delivered an album that is sure to attract new fans without alienating existing ones. Great album!
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