The Empire Is Rising - Plastic Palace Alice

Melbourne sextet Plastic Palace Alice is one of those bands that cops heaps of comparisons. Rob McDowell from the band doesn’t have a problem with the group being compared to other bands, “It’s the nature of the game. People, and particularly music journalists, feel comfortable putting bands in pockets”.

So what does Plastic Palace Alice sound like? Rob’s enthusiastic about this, “Our album we’ve just recorded is pretty diverse and even a little genre-hopping. One song is bit electro-punk, and then all of a sudden we’ll do a kind of Nashville ditty.” He says, “the sound of a band is best reflected in its failing to pull off certain genres perfectly – the personality of the players should override the sonic archetypes.”

If for some reason you’ve been living under a rock, or someone stole your radio/computer/ears, then no doubt you’ve heard the infectious single from Plastic Palace Alice, 'Empire Falls'. Infact, Triple J has grabbed the single with much glee and joy, (and as I type, 'Empire Falls' is being played on the crappy mono radio I have at work) “Triple J has been very good to us” Rob goes on to say, “They’ve given us an opportunity to expose our music to many ears, and we do get a lot of feedback on the site (Triple J Unearthed) from both the Triple J presenters, as well as the general public, which is great. I guess it’s a bit like MySpace, but specifically Australian. And the fact that Triple J is a national radio station is kind of cooler too, it means if they like your music, they’ll play it.”

And speaking of MySpace, like anyone with access to an internet connection, Plastic Palace Alice has a site, where of course, you can sample their wares. “MySpace has changed the nature of the industry”. Rob owns up to checking out other bands, “I’ve found so much good music and talent on there. And yeah, people have found us on there, which is great. I’m not sure that all our potential listeners are MySpace users, but it’s early days for this kind of technology”.

With the EP firmly under their belt, Rob says there’s no resting on the collective laurels for Plastic Palace Alice, “This next month is kind of ‘business month’ for us. This single/EP has a pretty limited release. We’re mainly just using it as a promotional tool.” The band has recruited Jonathan Burnside (of the first Sleepy Jackson album fame) as the producer for the new album. It’s in the process of being mastered and Rob’s looking at the album as a worm on the hook, “We’ve had chats with quite a few labels already, and basically they’re just waiting to hear the album, which is pretty much finished now.”

It seems things are just going to get busier for Plastic Palace Alice this year. They’ve just finished up a tour of the East coast, and plan to head back to Sydney in the next month or so. But once the album’s released, then stand by, because they’re got a whole bunch of dates up their sleeve. Although, if you’re in Melbourne town, watch out for Plastic Palace Alice performing for the Cabaret Festival in July, “We’ll be performing our album in its entirety, Brian Wilson style. It’ll have horns and strings and stuff. Can’t wait!”

And if Plastic Palace Alice continues its success, Rob may very well, one day, have his dream support gig, “Bob Dylan would be pretty awesome. Just to share the stage with the man while he’s still around. I don’t know what he’d think of us though! I wouldn’t even think to write the kind of lyrics I do if it wasn’t for his influence on music 40 years ago. Or maybe Tom Waits. But let’s face it, that’s pretty unlikely!”

Well, you never know your luck in the big city, Rob! Here’s hoping Plastic Palace Alice pops by your neighbourhood some time soon!

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