The Objects - Playground (review)
The Brownsville trio bring an energetic album that serves as a suitable crash course and celebration of the post-punk movement.
If you’re going to imitate a specific musical movement, you better know what you’re doing, and The Objects certainly do. Their debut album “Playground” is a model display of the post-punk and new wave tropes and is a prime example on how to commemorate, rather than rip off genres of the past.
At 20 minutes in length, the album is best enjoyed at an uninterrupted listen. This is the post-punk version of a DJ set: same tempo, timbre, and drum pattern throughout. Smokey bass lines dominate over high-pitched chorused guitar melodies and vocals that are bluntly shouted through a ghostly filter, creating an intoxicating and dim wall of sound. The biggest breakaway from the formula is the song “Order” which is also the shortest on the list. It is the only track in a major key but maintains the atmospheric theme of the album.
Most lyrics stick to themes of angsty cynicism and apprehension over music that is as anxiously fast, as it is claustrophobic: “Lie to me. Cry to me. Tell me what I won’t believe. If you care, you’ll be there. If you’re not here, then I don’t care.” The band even has a flamboyant song, “You for a While”, about copying the fashion of their influences. “What do you do with your hair? I want a piece of you,” sing’s Xavier Castañeda with a hint of sass. “Can I have some of your style? I’ll be you for a while.” The darkest moment appears on “Taboo”, a song about a nightclub sexual assault. “Who are you? Where am I?” Castañeda sings in the middle of a disorienting fog.
Fans of The Cure, Joy Division, and Bauhaus can appreciate the effort and the glorification of their beloved genres and time periods. The band grew up during the post-punk revival of the early 2000’s, but the albums then did not match the aggression and intense pace of Playground. The Objects offer a side of the late 70’s and early 80’s alternative scene that did not resurface through later successful post-punk bands like Interpol, She Wants Revenge, or Bloc Party.
As unoriginal as the album may be, it serves as a fun album to celebrate the past and introduce a counter-cultural sound to the modern palate. The band’s execution, cohesion, attitude and musical IQ show a great deal of awareness and vision about themselves and their influences. Their greatest asset is something that all blatantly derivative bands need: respect for their roots.
Score: 7/10