Review Summary: Bedrooms are productive places.
After a long gruelling day of menial and infuriating tasks, there are few things more satisfying than retiring to the safe haven that is your bedroom. Within the confines of those four familiar walls, you can engage religiously in the trivial and inane, and fritter time away exploring every whim and fancy. Or, you know; you could craft a brilliant post-rock E.P and release it to the world mere months after your last sublime bedroom creation. Now, tipping your hat to the notion that becoming an established composer probably exceeds your existence as a nocturnal gaming sloth, we can appreciate and applaud the genius of 21 year old Australian Plini, who is already forging a strong reputation as
the rising star of post-rock.
Seemingly known by his moniker alone, Plini creates genuinely special music by infusing classic, soaring rock riffs with angelic orchestrations. Strings of all varieties co-exist and overlap with supreme precision, so much so that without keen attention, many blissful moments may simply pass the listener by. The riffs are undeniably reminiscent of Clapton, and the Cream and Led Zeppelin influences can be felt in ripples throughout the album. The frantic yet understated solo towards the end of opener ‘Soaring’ and the emphatic chugging energy of title track ‘Sweet Nothings’ paint the picture of an aspiring artist who has lived, breathed and drank rock n’ roll, and whose had the perspicacity to lift the brilliance of days gone by and morph it into something totally his own.
Above all else however, it’s the backdrops to the songs which enable Plini to stand out from his contemporaries. Mastery of the basic pentatonic scales can be achieved by many, but it’s the orchestral backdrops and keys which many of the riffs dance against which allows the songs to feel like so much more – propelling each and every one of them way beyond their formulaic foundations. Just as the energy of ‘Soaring’ subsides, subtle violins pay homage to an exiting guitar and a distant choral accompaniment elevates the song to breathtaking levels. Elsewhere, they choose to ebb and flow, inconspicuously encouraging the songs to build; most effectively on the climatic ‘Tarred and Feathered.’
These moments of meticulous brilliance pepper the E.P - a feat which is made all the more impressive by its tender 17 minute running time. Once
Sweet Nothings has finished whispering what it has to offer in both your ears, you’ll crave it even more.
