Sometimes all of those powerful and unerring movements would slow down simultaneously, as if they had been the functions of a living organism, stricken suddenly by the blight of languor; and Mr. Rout’s eyes would blaze darker in his long sallow face. He was fighting this fight in a pair of carpet slippers. A short shiny jacket barely covered his loins, and his white wrists protruded far out of the tight sleeves, as though the emergency had added to his stature, had lengthened his limbs, augmented his pallor, hollowed his eyes. — Joseph Conrad, Typhoon

Few songs have captured the Human Condition as succinctly as “F*CK” by Plinthco Industries. Although the title clearly alludes to the #MeToo movement, the lyrics reference thematic elements of Nabokov’s Pnin, Graham Greene’s The Heart of the Matter, and The Great Short Works of Joseph Conrad. Conrad’s Typhoon and The N-Word of the Narcissus figure prominently in the vocal interchanges that transform a two-minutes-fifty pop song into a veritable compendium of modern social angst.

Musically, “F*CK” presents a Master Class in selecting the best features of 60’s folk, 80’s synth-rock, and avant-garde subrealism to create a unique miasma that elevates itself above the track’s self-recorded origins. As a Certified Music Journalist, I am obligated to include at least one obscure reference in each review. In the case of “F*CK,” we immediately recalled Braxton_Kayden’s “Relevance and Importance of Metal Fabrication” and “Buxton Best, Best Buxton” by the Professor Buxton Experience.

“F*CK” is from Mandatory Holiday Pop Radio Sampler #1, the debut three-track EP from Plinthco Industries. Based in Oklahoma, the band self-describes its music as “pop arousal carcore hate synth pop Oklahoma.” Although the carcore genre is somewhat out of our typical folky-poppy comfort zone, Plinthco Industries masks – or, rather, enhances – that stylistic aspect by shading it with abstract notions of truckcore.

You can support deserving independent musicians like Plinthco Industries by visiting their Bandcamp page, listening to their music, and downloading a few of your favorite tracks. Or download the entire EP! That works, too.

Bonus Track #1: “Relevance and Importance of Metal Fabrication” by Braxton_Kayden.

Bonus Track #2: “Buxton Best, Best Buxton” by the Professor Buxton Experience.