There isn't much for information on the band's website, as far as a bio or even where they're located, so I'll make stuff up.

Plastic Supermodel hail from just outside Havana, Cuba, and they're all ex-members of Billy Squier's original band from the 70's, Piper.


That said, they blend some pretty high-energy punk-infused indie rock with more compression than I think I've ever heard in my life. I thought ... Trail of Dead's record was compressed.... these guys take it to a new level where I'd almost consider it an artform. If you love the sound of listening to a severely overmodulated college radio station, you are going to love this.

"Always Wrong" opens with a scritchy fuzzed out guitar riff that leads into an all-out rock blast that five years ago would not have reminded me a little bit of the White Stripes. I feel like my stereo won't go loud enough to give this song the listen that it deserves.

"Ants" gives us a skewed Bo-Diddley beat with some Crampy distorted vocals that for some reason make me want to listen to my old Fall records. I dig this. Cool noisy guitar solo. You've got one guy in one ear with a broken amp turned up to 11, and a cleaner, more restrained feller in the other speaker as a counterpoint.

"I Wish" starts a little shaky. The vocals are a bit off key, but close enough to a melody that you can't give it the "hey, it's punk rock, it's not supposed to be in key" benefit of the doubt. Kind of reminds me of Kurt Heasley from the Lilys all of a sudden getting his punk rock on. The vocal part is just at the bottom of the singer's range, and it never gets out of that range, which I could easily picture the band doing in a live show....when the adrenalin rush of the sweaty thousands of screaming fans tearing at their clothes, I can hear things going up an octave.... maybe two if an over-zealous fan grabs at something private.

This song goes mental with the compression. There are these stops in the chorus where you just hear the compression let go for a second (and you hear all the amps humming and the singer swallowing) and then crushing back down. A neat trick, but man... this whole sampler is so compressed (maybe it's just the internet mastering? I don't know....) that I think I'd go completely crazy if I had to listen to more than twenty minutes of it.

A cool threesome of tracks. I can tell that they have a great potential to let it loose on the stage, and I think that's where I'd rather hear them first....then check out the CD.

Download these three from the band's website and see what you think. What do I know?

www.plasticsupermodel.com