Kevin Bronson on July 9th, 2019

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L.A.’s Polyplastic make collared-shirt post-punk for those despairing moments when remoteness feels like the only safe haven and dancing in a crowd of one is therapy. The music is the work of Charlie Ellis and Emily Ibarra, along with producer-guitarist Dylan Bostick — an anxiety attack of urgent rhythms strafed by caustic guitars and the croon of Ellis, who once worked as a welder in Philadelphia. Or, “dramatic Bryan Ferry-goes-Factory Records-style post-punk,” as LA Record aptly described their music. Which makes you wonder what Ellis hummed while he peened.

Polyplastic debuted last summer with the quick-hitting “Not No” EP and followed up this spring with the single “Object, Not the Object.” This week they return with “Follow Suit,” a typically angular blast that features Ellis wondering whether he should “exit through my eyes.”

“‘Follow Suit is about all the versions of yourself you have to talk to daily in order to be yourself,” Ellis explains. “The lyrics ended up being pretty dark, but the song is meant to be an optimistic look at all the versions that you could and will be in the future after learning from your past.”

It’s the second in a series of singles Polyplastic will be releasing this year.

||| Stream: “Follow Suit”

||| Also: Stream “Object, Not the Object”

||| Live: Polyplastic plays the Factory in downtown L.A. on Aug. 8.

||| Previously: “Next Slide”