Album Review: “Ides” by Plaxton and the Void
by Connor Park
Whether you’re an indie fan in search of local artists to spin or just a flat-out fan of alternative acoustic music, you’re bound to enjoy “Ides,” the debut full-length release from Warsaw band Plaxton and the Void. Founded by guitarists Joel Squires and Joshua Jacoby (the eponymous Plaxton and the Void), the band also employs the talents of Dave McCall on bass and Tom Wagoner on drums.
“Ides” is the ideal album for cold weather days, featuring mellow acoustic strumming and electric grooves to warm your chilly heart. Fans of Darkroom, a regional favorite of years past, will find plenty to love about Squires’ vocals, which rise and fall in harmony with the emotional timbre of the album.
Lyrically, Plaxton and the Void keep their heading fixed on romantic horizons, following on the ebbs and flows of love. The album has two moods: quietly pensive and ardently determined, with the front half of the album containing softer sentiments than the more insistent tone of some of the closing tracks.
If the album has one flaw, it’s that several of the songs hew too close to one formula: telling the story of the songwriter’s regrets to a slow and steady beat. On my first listen, the opening tracks were indistinguishable in my mind, with distinctions tune and theme emerging only after a few more playthroughs.
The most successful tracks on the album are those which break from that perceived pattern. The fifth track, “Don’t Go,” pairs a persistent lyrical plea with a mellower tune. the ninth and tenth songs, “Like Jericho” and “Sentence Bound, “vivid metaphors collide with robust rock instrumentation for the band’s most memorable tracks.
“Ides” is available for name-your-price download at group’s bandcamp page (plaxtonandthevoid.bandcamp.com).
For fans of: Darkroom, Wilco, Sioux Ste. Marie
Connor Park
Copy Editor
