Reviews for new album Psychic Reader:
“The Plastic Pals give the discerning listener a full slate of tunes from the sublime to uptempo on this 3rd LP that will keep you coming back for more. Quite a few tracks standout and could make it to mass appeal radio and Internet outlets. This CD drops on November2, 2018….Give it some love! This CD is a MUST LISTEN! On my Storm Scale, I give this a rousing FORCE 5! WELL DONE!” (Michael McKenna, McKenna Reviews, Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA).
“The group has always had a faiblesse for Paisley Underground and old fans will not be disappointed. New fans will certainly join. At least if they get to hear Connecting, a laid-back funk tune with spoken words kind of vocals that takes you back to a run-down street corner in the Bronx in the 70s”. (Robert Ryttman, Zero Magazine, Sweden: 9/10).
“With The Plastic Pals you go back to the music of the 1980s, where “dry” rock impressed, which still inspires many. ‘Psychic Reader’ is not only for musical psychics, but in the first place for rock enthusiasts with a broad taste for what is good. For them, who know what “enjoy & fun” means… “ (Rootstime, Belgium).
More to follow as they come in.
Earlier reviews:
“If you heard one of these cuts on the radio then whichever one it was, you’d want to know who it was. Those guitars are utterly infectious as they jangle and pummel, sometimes simultaneously. If what goes around does indeed come around then their music will take them far.” (Lindsay Hutton)
“…the song ‘Good Karma Cafe’ – when taken on its’ own – is enough to sell you something of a dummy where The Plastic Pals are concerned. It’s a gorgeously wistful, Americana-tinged affair with plenty of space for guest Jason Shogren’s regal pedal steel to waft around and some notably lonesome Neil Young-style harmonica.”
“The other thing that really sets The Plastic apart is Soold’s skill as a lyricist. Occasionally, he conjures up a neo-psychedelic mysticism, as on ‘Gone With The Wind’ (“a sea burst through the park and a clipper made the scene/ it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen”) which recalls the cosmic oddness of The Ramones’ ‘Highest Trails Above’, but mostly his observations whether personal (‘Best Kept’s Secret”s vivid and hearbreaking observations of death) or political (the darkly topical ‘Suicide Bomber’) are both effective and memorable. And when they’re allied to The Pals’ magnificent sonic fire power they’re clearly onto a winner.” (Tim Peacock)
Reviewers rating: 9/10
“Opener Here Comes the Sun is a perfect example of their ability to produce vibrant and visceral songs which tap straight into rock’s collective unconscious.” “…leads on songs such as The Best Kept Secret or Long and Lonely are a glorious combination of wiry and melodic, often recalling the work of Chuck Prophet.” (Kai Roberts)
Reviewers rating: 8/10
Nöjesguiden
(in Swedish)
“If Håkan Soold had been Englishman or American, he would have belonged to a chosen group of internationally recognised, but very modestly selling cult heroes. With his high quality and partially psychedelic rock, his limber guitar strands almost at the level of Tom Verlaine, and his habile voice quite close to Ian McNabb (consider that a recommendation!), he should be sorted with just that kind of artists, together with Richard Lloyd, Chris Spedding and Matthew Sweet. His background in the classic band Dom Dummaste, whose Lars Cleveman makes a guest performance here, would have contributed to the cult, while guests like Green On Red’s Chris Cacavas would have been a little something for all the experts.
However, Håkan Soold and his Plastic Pals aren’t Englishmen or Americans, but Swedish, and that makes the cult almost negligibly small. Still, whoever find The Plastic Pals in some way, should be congratulated! ” (Patrik Forshage)
“Hailing from Stockholm, The Plastic Pals debut long player is a powerhouse of guitar-drenched power-pop. featuring stellar guest Chris Cacavas (Green on Red) on organ and taking cues from the likes of the Flamin Groovies, Dream Syndicate and Gun Club, this is soulful, driving music, with as much melody as muscle.”
“We loved their EP! Their debut long player delivers on the EP’s promise /…/ Shadow Of A Dream” has a guitar riff that reminds us of Buffalo Springfield’s “Rock and Roll Woman”! “Suicide Bomber” has a kind of early Teardrop Explodes feel to it! EXCELLENT!!!”
melodic.net
(in Swedish)
” Here you have a Swedish band who plays a groovy sort of retro rock with garage-flirts all over. And they’re doin’ it really good with a lot of help from the producer Björn Öqvist who’ve worked with SpaceAge Baby Jane and Pennebaker mentioning two.
Third out – the cool and softer “Long And Lonely” is one winner and the rocker “The Best Kept Secret” that smells Television a long way is another one (with Chris Cacavas from Green On Red as a guest).
Television is one name to mention when you compare the band to others… I would also wanna mention The Strokes, a young and horny Costello and Velvet Underground if they would have been focused on melodies instead of drugs. A really well done filet of music. ” (Pär Winberg)
Reviewers rating: 3,5/5
Meadow Music
(in Swedish)
“A couple of months ago The Plastic Pals released their debut album “Good Karma Café”. A solid, exciting rock and powerpop album with a collection of strong tracks with The Plastic Pals’ own special sound. It feels like great retro mixture molded into something new. I get so many associations to this that I find it hard to tell them apart into some kind of description.
Sixties pop, psychadelia, Blue Öyster Cult, Television, and yes it feels clean and rough at the same time. I really love the vocals from Håkan Soold, which adds a lot of soul to the music and keeps everything together. A really good album that grows each time I listen to it.” (Pär Berglund)