Perhaps one of the most frustrating bands in Northern Ireland right now, it’s fair to say that Sligo-born but Belfast-based riff merchants A Plastic Rose have never really delivered the goods despite their grand ideas and flights of fancy. They talked a decent game, but their tunes never quite seemed to rise to greatness and – whether as a result or not – the past few years have seen them tread water. It’s not all doom and gloom though. Their new outing The Promise Notes finally sees the four-piece start to deliver on their raw potential.
Opening with the string-laden, swooning ‘Oceans,’ the seven-track opus is a solid effort that’s hads something about it of a more muscular version of The Frames. Singer Gerry Norman’s voice soars on the likes of ‘Louder Than Me’ and while the plodding ‘Tiger Tail’ sees the band revisit their bad habits of old, the primal sludge of ‘The Metal Men’ and the stately sounding closing track ‘Last Shining Star’ help round out the release in style. While they’re not quite the finished article yet, The Promise Notes is a massive step in the right direction, whetting the appetite for a full-length LP.