The Antennaheadz - Plastic Box

Hear The Track Here

There is a thread doing the rounds on Soundclick entitled 'Have you been on Soundclick longer than this guy?' which I have been watching, having been here for a great many years. It's one of those 'who has been here longest?' jobs and I've been here since April 2002 so that puts me well in there. So - I think - will Thomas J (aka Antennaheadz aka Black Zarak aka The Men From San Deigo). See before he became a victim of multiple bandnames, a much younger Thomas J was known as Station For Imitation whose 'gloomy experimental electronica' this reviewer struggled mightily with for ages and never really got a bite of what he was about musically.

It took his multiple personnas to show me just how innovative Thomas could really be, although it has to be said that his work is definitely a walk on the wilder side of experimental. Having said that, his last two tracks - Loveless Blues (October 2007) and Mr Panache (November 2007) were very different to his previous outing. Both are acoustic guitar/vocal tracks (done of course in the man's own style), and both would qualify IMHO as being called 'songs' which is something this artist has NEVER done before. Both managed to snag Must Have's, which I think was a first for this artist.

Musically, Plastic Box, finds the Antennaheadz wandering back to their roots, exploring the most irritating sounds known to man and making them - somehow - work together. That is certainly the impression the beginning fo this track will give, but that's only a first impression and should be discounted. When you get right into the meat of potatoes of the track you are going either like it or hate it - as was ever the way with this artist. Its essentially a tune played with an organ sound, added to every bar, until the whole thing starts sounding as if it had just entered a church. Me I quite liked it but I do have weird taste, and Thomas J manages to hit that spot with this odd - and long - track that is definitely a throwback to earlier times.

Surprisingly good - but very strange - instrumental. Recommended for enthusiasts.