Sydney newcomer Cope teams up with established underground artist Undersided for the second time, with the raw and vulnerable track Plastic. After their first of many collaborative ventures, wanted2callU – a skilfully-produced acoustic-pop piece detailing the hopeless feeling of longing for someone who just isn’t good for you.
Cope brings that husky, longing tone with his vocals that perfectly complements any melancholy guitar progression he sings over – reminiscent of a young Damien Rice (think 2003’s O record). While Undersided usually having a little more of a processed sound than his collaborative partner – due to his production ability and background – the two gel together remarkably well and leaves the audience hoping for more collaboration and experimentation between the pair.
Plastic sounds like a stripped-back Golden Vessel track, with that gentle pacing and emphasised lyrical depth – while not straying too far into metaphors or overthought narratives. It’s poetic, in its own simplicity, and Cope makes it clear throughout his delivery that the song’s story is genuine and emotional. He effectively transfers that energy not only to Undersided, who channels and compliments it perfectly for a track of this spirit, but also the listener. So, while it may have less ‘radio appeal’ than wanted2callU, this track shows honest and heartfelt songwriting at its core – and if that isn’t the most integral component of artistry, what is?
With Sydney’s music scene being dominated by the very ‘current’ sounds of drill-rap 808’s and surf-rock’s psychedelic vocal reverb, Plastic is a refreshing change in tone for Sydney independent music that one might label as ‘one-to-watch’.
For fans of other independent Aussie acts like Jimmy Harwood or Gutterboy, Plastic shows you both Cope and Undersided are to keep on your radar, and may be a part of a new wave of slower, grassroots songwriting for artists and producers coming out of Australia in the next year or so. It would be very interesting to see this pair not only continue to work together but also to experiment with different sounds, and go deeper into their own niche that is so hard to define sonically, as we all know indie is not a genre.
Plastic is available to stream and download on all platforms August 1.
