Comedy is in a weird place right now, with some of the best up and comers and a fair share of lazy hacks. Every white male comedian with a podcast mic pretends they are telling truth to power while sharing their very unnecessary opinion about where trans people belong. Court jesters can be the favorite of the ruling class or be so smart that their Lords don’t even know they are the butt of the joke. PLAIINS definitely are the latter, and their latest is a testament to the unexpected layers of nuance that abound throughout Happy Faces. With some of the best post-punk/garage rock released since the late 80s, PLAIINS love two things very clearly: a bloody killer hook and sardonic humor. While jokes in your punk often feel sophomoric or silly, there’s phenomenal insight here, where the band want to lay bare the ugly truths. And it’s seriously hilarious the way vocalist Chris Reardon sees things:
“That actually was one of the goals – that in every song you had to laugh at least once! There’s a lot of British humour in there, that pushing away awkward conversations or moments using jokes, but we are all very good at being honest. [When] communicating difficult ideas and talking about difficult subjects, using comedy is a very effective tool. Yelling at someone aggressively or bluntly saying things just doesn’t work at all. There’s a place for it, but if you want to change people’s minds, make them laugh first. A slap is met with a slap; a laugh has a possibility of making someone understand your ideas. A lot of things as well are just funny and ridiculous. ‘Amazon Warehouse’ is based on my experience working in an Amazon warehouse. The way you were treated is actually like a joke, so why not poke fun at it!”
Happy Faces is out now, and you can order it from Long Branch Records. Follow PLAIINS on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for future updates.
Photo Credit: Arne Beschorner
