After a series of teasers from the band and their label, Glass Beach released the album's lead single, "The CIA", on October 11, 2023.[1] The song came with a music video directed by the band's drummer William White.[1] The song was described as "almost alt-rock-radio-ready" but without "compromising their proggy, exploratory tendencies",[1] "zany, shapeshifting art pop",[2] and as existing "in a strange space, someplace where prog, post-punk, and jazz coalesce".[3]
The album was announced on November 6, 2023, set for release on January 19, 2024, by Run for Cover Records.[4] The announcement came with the second single, "Rare Animal".[4] The song includes gang vocals from the full band and their "secret fifth member Daxe", which vocalist J McClendon likened to a Greek chorus.[5]
Stereogum and Treble both named Plastic Death as their "album of the week" ahead of its release.[6][7]Stereogum's Chris DeVille called Plastic Death a "rare sophomore album feat" and "an entirely new phase of evolution for the band."[6]Treble's Jeff Terich wrote that the "beauty of a record with Plastic Death is that the restraint is always temporary; give them time to get there, and Glass Beach will prove just what kind of masterful bedlam they can stir up."[7] Rachel Evangeline Chiong of Exclaim! described it as "a monolith of an album, narratively entwined front to back."[8]Paste reviewer Grant Sharples stated that "on paper, it may seem like an unfocused mess, but they execute everything with stylistic flair."[9]Consequence's Abby Jones called the album "a vivid, moving, yet realistic examination on the world at large".[10]Flood's Will Schube called the album's sound "tantalizing, a little scary, and wholly wondrous".[11] Critics also praised the work of mastering engineerWill Yip.[9][7]
Track listing
All tracks are written by J McClendon, Jonas Newhouse, Layne Smith, and William White.
Plastic Death track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Coelacanth"
6:34
2.
"Motions"
3:32
3.
"Slip Under the Door"
5:28
4.
"Guitar Song"
2:28
5.
"Rare Animal"
4:38
6.
"Cul-de-Sac"
4:35
7.
"Whalefall"
4:10
8.
"Puppy"
3:17
9.
"The Killer"
4:13
10.
"The CIA"
4:42
11.
"200"
3:49
12.
"Commatose"
9:49
13.
"Abyss Angel"
5:56
Total length:
63:11
Notes
Every song is stylized in all lowercase letters, except for "The CIA" which is stylized as "the CIA".
Personnel
Glass Beach
J McClendon - lead vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, theremin, gang vocals
Layne Smith - guitar, gang vocals, spoken word (1)
Jonas Newhouse - bass, keyboard, synthesizer, gang vocals
