Plastik Joy – 3:03 (n5MD)

Downbeat electronic / instrumental duo Cristiano Nicolini and Fannar Asgrimsson first met back in 2005 while they were both studying audio engineering in Barcelona, a meeting that resulting in their ongoing partnership as Plastik Joy, despite the two continuing to live in Italy and Iceland respectively. With Nicolini coming from more of an electronic music background, while Asgrimsson has his roots in folk-rock, this impressive debut album on n5MD ‘3:03’ (apparently named for the time at which recording typically halted in the early morning hours) introduces the duo’s blend of intricately-detailed post-rock and IDM / glitch influences. Anchored around the gentle female vocals of guest singer S. Kawasaki (who appears on about half the tracks here), tracks such as opener ‘Sleepy Quest For Coffee’ and ‘Twenty-Ninth Of April’ see the duo constructing meticulously-detailed and sweepingly melancholic post-rock landscapes, delicate guitar strokes and trailing keyboards merging with subtle glitchy textures, whirring harmonics and fractured IDM rhythms to create a fusion that’s not completely dissimilar to Dntel, or perhaps Telefon Tel Aviv during one of their more quiet, introspective moments. While for the most part the eleven tracks here see Plastik Joy setting the cruise control for a swooning, dreamlike glide, moody highlight piece ‘Mediaspiace’ sees thunderclouds moving into the foreground as S. Kawasaki’s ominous spoken word performance and pensive chiming guitar chords give way to crunching rock powerchords and crashing drums, the entire track bursting into flame before things settle back down to a glow that smoulders on through to the end of this impressive collection. An excellent debut album from Plastik Joy that’s also one of the best winter headphone soundtracks I’ve heard so far this year.