By Andrew Bansal
Based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, The Plum Magnetic is a fusion rock quartet that aims to eclectically blend musical elements of various kinds within the rock blanket, and with their newest full-length effort ‘Terra Animata’ which was released early last year, they’ve succeeded in achieving this aim for the most part as the positivity of the impact these tunes have on the listener is quite profound.
A clean, bluesy electric guitar and a 6-string electric banjo are the main lead instruments of choice here, and are well backed up by the rhythm section which also boasts of some variety such as the percussive instrument Tabla which brings in touches of Indian classical music to this soothing 8-track, 55-minute rock composition, like on ‘The Electric Jungle’ for example. And to top it all, Trent Ciolino delivers immaculately expressive vocals that fit together well with the music. The album certainly has all the ingredients for a smoke-filled evening at home for those who like to indulge, and also serves as an ideal background soundtrack for lounges, social gatherings and public places.
With that said, some of the 10-minute instrumentals could have been sliced down and made more compact, and that would perhaps be my only criticism of the album. Other than that, it’s quite a worthwhile listen for fans of fusion rock. ‘Trece Leeches’, ‘The Electri Jungle’ and ‘SheshBesh’ stand out as the highlights of the album in my opinion, but the whole album comes across as the kind that needs to be listened to in one sitting. Even the hard rock and heavy metal fanatics that typically frequent this website would be able to appreciate the creativity and purity of expression that comes through in The Plum Magnetic’s ‘Terra Animata’, and for that reason it comes as highly recommended from me.
Rating: 9/10
Release Date: February 23rd 2013
Track Listing:
01. Spring
02. Trece Leches
03. Sweet Confusion
04. The Electric Jungle
05. Shesh Besh
06. Parallax
07. The Delicious
08. Terra Animata
Links:
theplummagnetic.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/pages/The-Plum-Magnetic/298885173545409
twitter.com/plummagnetic