SUNSHINE BY THE PLASTIC CHERRIES

“There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?”

Do you remember when you heard these words watching the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer for the first time? Literal chills. You know, back when Star Wars fans were a little less toxic and hadn’t shown their full-on misogyny and racism. Back to the good ol’ days when there was just pure excitement for the sequels and not grown men complaining that a franchise for children wasn’t living up to their stupid, unrealistic expectations.

When I listen to the new music that is coming out of Utah—the Salt Lake scene especially—it's clear that an awakening has occurred, and I have felt the chills. Utah is going through a rock renaissance.

It’s a movement away from the three typical bands found in Utah: (1) indie rock occasionally possessed by the spirit of Two Door Cinema Club, (2) indie folk music sounding (and/or looking) like they literally came out of the mountains, and (3) generic pop rock that can get dangerously close to glorified EFY music. As we move away from these three, you can feel the rain on your skin. This is new. This is different. No one else can feel it for you. This is fucking exciting. A cooler cohort is emerging. A regime change is coming. But only you can let it in. Will you survive the revolution?

​If there were a perfect compliment, a yin to the yang leading the charge during this revolution, Dad Bod would be on the one hand, and The Plastic Cherries would be on the other.

The Plastic Cherries’ 2021 album, Sunshine, begs the question: are we back in the '90s having a weird, nostalgic obsession for the 1970s? Except in the year of our Lord 2022, it seems like we have this weird, nostalgic obsession of the '90s and through that, a nostalgic obsession of the '70s without viewing everything through a lens of cynicism like we did in the '90s. Okay, between writing the previous sentence and this one, I went on Twitter, and I am realizing that the lens of cynicism is very real. So maybe the cynicism of the '90s still persists. 

The aforementioned nostalgia is perfectly highlighted in the song “MTV”. You have a song that evokes the '70s talking about a concept dominated by the '90s. “I want to sell my soul on MTV,” they sing. Well, who wouldn’t? Who wouldn’t relish this opportunity to even be able to sell out in such a way? I guarantee you even Billie Joe Armstrong would bite at the opportunity of selling out in the '90s over bands and artists being told they will not be given a chance unless you go viral on TikTok. Oh wait, he did.

Release your inhibitions. Hit the road, and let the twangy reverb and piano tone that will take you back at least several decades be your only guide as you listen to “Where the Light Wants to Go.” And you will find the answer. The light wants to come inside. As you stare out at the open road before you, open up the dirty window as you drive through the desert. Let the sun(shine) illuminate the words that you could not find. The Plastic Cherries have found them for you.

How will the revolution proceed here in Utah? Who’s to say? The rest is still unwritten.

P.S. Don't sleep on "Waking Up." It's a vibe.