‘As Above’, the first single from Hartlepool band Plaza, is sort of what you imagine The xx or Foals would sound like as a lo-fi garage band. Mixing a fuzzy bassline with interlocking guitar parts, the band have managed to encapsulate, as they put it, “cold beer in July with all the trimmings”.
As with the other two tracks Plaza have released, ‘As Above’ builds on a solid riff, adding parts in a way that makes the song reminiscent of an ambient version of ‘Intro’ or ‘Late Night’. Bradley Lennard’s vocals diffuse into the music to achieve that blend that means the lyrics feel like another instrument, especially on the echos of “go and wait somewhere new”. The guitar solo and accompanying up-tempo drums around the 3 minute mark pick the track up a bit, and this is Plaza’s real strength: finding the right mixture of rock and ambience.
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This definitely suggests we’re going to hear good things from Plaza in the future – ‘As Above’ will feature on the debut EP the band are currently recording, and in the meantime it’s available for you to name your price on Bandcamp!
Words by Priya Bryant