Plushgun Fever Is Catching On

For quite some time now, I have been searching for the one who's gonna be the next great indie band. I need a band that can mesmerize me with their melodies and suck me in with their lyrics. And after countless hours lost spent scouring soundtracks, iTunes, myspace, message boards, and many mediocre albums, not one band can even came close to make me feel like The xx or Cut/Copy or Phoenix did before. Like I was enveloped in this big translucent bubble filled with champagne to make me go all psychedelic when I listened to their albums. I have almost lost faith, that is until I stumbled upon Plushgun. Now, this is one band that I could really get into. Temper Trap was okay but not quite bubbly-champagne-psychedelicky (is that even a word?) enough.

Plushgun is an indie rock/New Wave/Synth-Pop band founded by Dan Ingala located in Brooklyn, New York. The current lineup of the band is Ingala, Taylor Armstrong on guitar and Matt Bogdanow on drums. Their first album, Pins and Panzers, was released on February 17, 2009. In a positive review, Orlando Sentinel music critic Jim Abbott wrote that the lead song "Just Impolite" "manages to be breezy and atmospheric" and other tracks "boast plenty of shimmering keyboards, but enough melody to sing along."

Dan Ingala serves up a thoroughly likable dose of 1980s nostalgia on Pins & Panzers. This early 2009 release isn't an exact replica of the 1980s; Ingala has 1990s and 2000s influences as well, including the Postal Service. But there is no overlooking the fact that Ingala's synthesizer-driven pop/rock has been greatly influenced by 1980s new wave and synth pop. Ingala no doubt appreciates the fact that a lot of 1980s music was relentlessly hooky and infectious, and infectiousness is exactly what he achieves on bouncy tracks like "Dancing in a Minefield" and "Union Pool." Ingala has a healthy sense of humor; his lyrics can be clever and highly introspective. All are important parts of the picture on Pins & Panzers that make up for a consistently enjoyable and well-crafted effort from Plushgun. Check out their albums here: Plushgun album by Plushgun.

You'll like this if you like: Death Cab for Cutie, Owl City, Postal Service, La Roux, Cut/Copy.

And their music video for the single "Just Impolite" is done by Tyler Shields