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Plush is a four-piece originating from San Francisco, CA, with members of local projects like The She’s, and The Sweethearts. Their succinct debut LP, Pine_,_ is just seven tracks long and clocks in at a little bit over 23 minutes.

“If you come back / I’ll fall like a leaf at your feet” croons Karli Roberts on the opener “WAYN.” Equal parts surf-rock and shoegaze, the song sets the tone for the LP both sonically and lyrically. Over the thick melodic, fuzzed out chords, Roberts sings about the impending death of a relationship (presumably with someone named Wayne), but she isn’t willing to end it. The dark and heavy sound Plush could pass off as a member of Slumberland records, like Black Tambourine or even more obvious comparisons like to My Bloody Valentine, and Slowdive. Like the Vivian Girls before them, Plush borrows elements from 60’s girl groups like The Crystals. Underneath the layers of fuzz and reverb are simple infectious pop grooves.

“Lake” is the band channeling their slowcore spirit animal powered by a bright airy guitar riff with one sludgy bass riff complementing it. The album’s closer “Teeth” marks a turn for the album, as Dylan, the band’s drummer takes up vocal duties. Symbolically, this could be seen as a rebuttal for the “WAYN” that Roberts refers to on the six tracks leading up to “Teeth.”

Originally published on Eargauze.com