There's something compelling about the way Blue Slate handle tension on their new single 'Plastic Soul'. The Kildare quartet have found that sweet spot where John Harney's weathered vocals sit against shimmering guitar work, creating friction that feels both comfortable and unsettling.
The track opens deceptively—distant reverb and gentle strums before everything crashes together in a surge of drums and overlapping guitars. It's the sound of a band that's spent time in the shoegaze underground but isn't afraid to let things get messy when the moment calls for it.
"The song is about trying to find your way in life, but when you start to reflect you realise that there is baggage that you have," they explain. That weight runs through every element, from Pierce Devine's howling lead lines to the way the whole thing builds to a gorgeous, chaotic climax that feels like acceptance and resignation wrapped together.
What's striking is how naturally they move between influences—there's Velvet Underground's experimental edge, Sparklehorse's damaged beauty, traces of Britpop's melodic confidence. But it never feels like pastiche. These are the sounds that make sense when you learn founders Harney and Devine bonded as kids over matching Brian Jones haircuts and raiding older siblings' CD collections.
Stream ‘Plastic Soul’ in the player below
