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Tracklisting & More Information
THE PLAN has been described as 'Talking Heads meets the Breeders' but debut album Nervous Energy takes the band in a more progressive and experimental direction. Post-punk in origin but with overtones of no wave, psych and garage rock, the record flaunts its flexibility with a mismatch of emotions. Nihilism, humour and pure joy compete and collude with an overriding positivity carrying all songs.
Along with the announcement, the band has shared the snappy new single 'Annotate The Text', its repetitive, tumbling post-punk call-and-response coming in at just over one and a half minutes. Guitarist / vocalist Rebecca Gillieron says of it: "I used to be an editor, so this was probably written whilst I was meant to be working, and it'?s about taking control of reality, embellishing the best features of your existence, deleting negative factors, shapingthe positive elements."
Nervous Energy showcases The Plan's love of straight-forwardly good tunes that get screwed-up by degrees. Fierce beats, unruly guitars and barely suppressed mania from the keys and homemade-cello underlay soaring harmonies delivered by well matched female vocals.
"You can dance to it too", they claim. Originally the side project of Rebecca Gillieron from all-female trio Wetdog, The Plan has become a force of its own. Forming last summer, this definitive line-up includes previous members of Vic Godard'?s Subway Sect, Private Trousers and The Ghosts and keeps itself close to home: half the members live together, some are married, many are related.
Song themes shape-shift across the record; subjects range from childhood memories ("'The Wall' was triggered by the memory of throwing a tennis ball against a brick wall at primary school for hours"), romanticising about natural, local luxuries ('Abbey Wood'), abandoning inhibitions and jumping straight into the unknown ('Pier Party Nerves'), "the conflicting desires of wanting a nice, quiet, controlled and peaceful life but at the sametime harbouring after extreme chaos and instability" ('Bright Lights'), and the simple joys of being a parent ('Chorus').
The band has varied tastes but share a love of post-punk greats like Talking Heads, This Heat, Wire, The Fall, as well as slightly lesser-known punk / post-punk / alternative classics like The Prats, Country Teasers, Male Nurse, Yummy Fur, Fire Engines, mixed with a desire to throw in big ESG-style dance beats and pop hooks like genius Kim Deal.
The Plan all live in Southend-on-Sea, flourishing on its beach life and doing their bit to secure its reputation as the "cultural capital" of Essex.
Side 1:
1. Annotate the Text 1:33
2. Bright Lights 1:54
3. Waiting for You 2:18
4. Tower Block 3:34
5. Dust 1:46
6. Chorus 2:51
Side 2:
1. Pier Party Nerves 2:40
2. Chambers 2:42
3. Landline 2:58
4. Arithmetic 2:30
5. Abbey Wood 2:13
6. The Wall 1:56
LP RECORD
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