In early December Plini released the ‘Mirage’ EP. A five-song serving of their signature europhic sounds. Making it their biggest release of new music since they dropped the Impulse Voices album back in 2020.
‘Mirage’ opens with the peaceful and nostalgic keys of ‘The Red Fox’, which pushes and pulls into a symphony of structured chaos—followed by the mystic strings in ‘Five Days of Rain’ that use a similar formula of fast-paced build-ups then sudden pullbacks. Next up is ‘Still Life’ featuring Tosin Abasi which moves between slow funk-like grooves to thriller-esque guitar riffs that give a feeling of impending danger.
The second last song ‘Aqua Vista’ is the closest to a traditional rock/metal song that we’ve ever heard from Plini. It opens with a 4/4 rhythm that makes you want to move and a guitar sound that is reminiscent of the 80’s. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Plini song if it didn’t randomly switch to odd time signatures to keep things interesting. The song proceeds to go back and forth between these massive rock hooks and captivating off-beat craziness.
Finally, the EP ends with ‘Ember’. It’s hard to decide whether this or the previous song are the best of the release. However, the award goes to this track because it gives an epic-ness that’s reminiscent of Plini classics such as ‘I’ll Tell You Someday’ with the ride and rim shot back beat building up under a mind-melting guitar riff and the calm breakdowns or pauses before triumphant resolutions. The last couple minutes of this song are some of the most hectic minutes in Plini’s entire catalogue.
Overall, this is a very strong release and a must-listen to for every Plini fan. From the ambient melodies over fast-paced back beats to aggressive riffs that manage to break down and build up at the same time. It has everything that we’ve grown to love from this one-of-a-kind artist.
Plini: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: self-released
Category: EP
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Brad Hapke
