Plastic Handgun
Involuntary Memories
(self-released)

Jangley keys and a guitar swell opens into a laconic back beat of first tune “Introverts” on the new Plastic Handgun album, Involuntary Memories. Mark Di Giovanni is the sole creator here, a multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/songwriter/producer.

He once again introduces his guitar, mid-way this time, on the quicker “Eustachian Tube,” shifting gears in a way that I’m not sure works, as I was digging the chunky metallic dance beat before the song just ambles into guitar flangyness and a crinkling distortion at its tail. We get some more of a solid dance beat (slower than on “Tube,” but really sly and cool) on “Grave Spinning II” with solid slicing guitar taking over. The addition of big, tough, single-note color to the overall driving beat makes this the first song on Involuntary Memories that really works for me. There is a marching beat, single-guitar call to another body part tune, “Capillary Vessel.” Things get really loud at the end here, and I do feel he overstays once again, but Di Giovanni’s strength, defined here perfectly, is in how he layers guitars and sounds over a good beat. Di Giovanni is back to singing on the swirling “The Dust You Kick Up Is Too Fine,” a song short and sweet and the light echo guitars on “Mirror Stage” sound unlike anything else we hear here and are a welcome tone change ender.

Overall this is a tight, instrumentally-laden brew of colorful, sometimes a little-too-long tunes from Plastic Handgun’s bag of tricks.