Hailing from Fort Collins, Colorado, the three-piece Plastic Forearm’s EP release brian’s home recasts two country classics and a relatively obscure Silver Jews gem in a decidedly different light. R. Cooper Long handles drumming, singing, and guitar duties alongside fellow six-string cohort Casey Brock. Brock shares vocals and Boone Mud Gonzalez rounds out the trio on bass and vocals. The four-track release smacks of DIY ethos, no glossy studio production, and even the EP cover reflects the loose aesthetic governing the conception. It has an undeniable garage band spirit that announces itself from the outset.
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It nevertheless crackles with woozy creative energy. The opener “waymore’s blooze” covers Waylon Jennings’ “Waymore’s Blues”. Plastic Forearm’s rendition of this classic country track is faithful in many ways. They tinker very little, if at all, with Jennings’ lyrics, and they retain the vocal melody. However, it breaks with the original in nearly every other respect. Plastic Forearm embraces a punk/hard rock vibe with crashing guitar chords, sternum-rattling bass, and a muscular drumming attack. They imbue their arrangement with dynamics never present in Jennings’ vision of the song. It’s an unabashed aural assault yet nuanced in surprising ways. Somewhere, somehow, I think Jennings would be smiling, though probably a bit bemused.
Their cover of the Silver Jews’ “Honk If You’re Lonely”, recast here as “honk if ur lonely”, has a joyous vibe. It’s akin to laughing in the face of a void. David Berman’s original melody is still present, albeit in ramshackle form. Plastic Forearm otherwise reshapes the Silver Jews song into a chaotic vehicle of suspect sobriety that mimics its predecessor in some ways but dials the raucousness up another notch. I’m a fan of the band sharing vocal chores among the three of them, and it helps give them an idiosyncratic yet identifiable sound.
They tackle the sainted ghost of Hank Williams Sr. with the EP’s next song. “nvr get out of this world alive” is a cover of Williams’ “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive”, his then-current single at the time of his death. It’s a rowdy and fatalistic romp in the hands of Plastic Forearm. They obviously love the song, and nothing parodies the original. They follow the example of the earlier tracks by retaining a smattering of core values from Williams’ version but never treat it without anything resembling outright veneration. It’s the shortest of the EP’s three cover songs.
BANDCAMP: https://plasticforearm.bandcamp.com/album/brians-home
They end brian’s home with the sole original, “mr. grumps”. This 95-second long blast of punk rock-influenced hilarity benefits from several strengths. It maintains an outstanding energy level from beginning to end, but Boone Mud Gonzalez’s bass playing stands out more than any other component. Plastic Forearm never takes themselves too seriously, and nor should you. However, their EP brian’s home clearly shows they enjoy playing together, they have a deep love and appreciation for traditional and alternative country, and their musical talents shine through the rabble-rousing. This is an excellent introduction to the Colorado-based trio and bodes well for their collective future.
Garth Thomas