Sometimes you find yourself in a healthy relationship. You’re able to set boundaries, there’s mutual respect and effort, and you can discuss any problems that pop up in a productive way. Ideal! Other times… perhaps “toxic” is the only word for it. You know it’s terrible for you, but you keep going back. Plcbo dives in on the latter with debut single “Bad Trip”, out today on all streaming platforms (find your platform of choice here).
“Bad Trip” takes such a calm approach to an unhealthy relationship. Despite the 20/20 hindsight, the song still doesn’t feel aggressive or accusatory; just resigned to the fact that it happened. The acoustic guitars in the first verse immediately recalled memories of 90s boyband LFO, which caused this song to feel comfortable… not unlike the feeling of getting stuck in a toxic relationship because it feels comfortable and familiar.
What really caught my attention with this track was the way something new made my ears perk up around every turn. The alt-pop base, the 808s, the Latin influence? I never fully knew what to expect while listening. Sometimes you can zone out while listening to music, but this song kept pulling me back to reality, asking me to decipher what I was hearing. Plus, Plcbo’s musical roots are grown in punk rock, so it’s interesting to listen again with that in mind… I can almost hear a post-hardcore influence somewhere underneath.
And now, an entirely unimportant complaint: Sometimes when artists are releasing new music, they delete everything off their IG so they can start fresh. And I totally get that, I do. But GOD it’s so hard to want to learn more about a musician when they’ve essentially gone into musical wit-pro. So I guess I’ll just have to keep my eyes peeled for the next song and hope I learn more about Plcbo along the way.
