Plankton
"Plankton"
Grooveyard Records
Just imagine if we could experience the past again. To witness the heavy, bluesy, funked-out, guitar whalings of artists like Hendrix, Trower, Beck, or even the mighty Cream back in the day must have been a sight to be seen. The music of those artists undoubtedly defined a generation. Honestly, it was during this time the real soul of rock guitar was born. Fast forward thirty or so years, to a time where it seems like putting out your own cd is as affordable as buying a fast food burger. Unfortunately, the quality of most of the instrumental guitar-based offerings that are released today seem to have about the same quality as a fast food burger as well. Well, I have news for you, I have found hope for instrumental guitar music and it resides in a band out of Sweden by the name of Plankton.
When you put on your Plankton cd, prepare to enter that past world where the guitar had meaning and where it had its birth as an instrument of beauty and power (to maximally enhance the vibe experience, pop on a pair of those old bell-bottoms and a tie-dye shirt.
To get right down to it, the interplay between guitarists Christian Neppenstrom and Emil Fredholm is amazing to listen to and must be even more amazing to watch. The vibe of the whole record, from the funky, upbeat, sailing melody lines of opener, "Varlevitation", to the beautiful, yet sad bluesy vibe surrounding "Jorm", shows a constant attention to the song structure, emotion, and musicianship by both guitarists. Most instrumental guitar artists today cannot even accomplish one of these pivotal ingredients, yet Plankton manages to encapsulate them all on their debut recording. The band’s cover of the Dave Brubeck classic, "Take Five" is also superbly done, showing class throughout and a worthiness when compared to the original. The first rule of covering a tune is to do it well and Plankton have undoubtedly done this.
To be honest, Plankton does borrow heavily from artists of the golden age of guitar, but so what, they do it well and they even add their own original elements, such as on the track "Zeitgeist", which features not only the essential Plankton twin guitar attack, but some serious harmonica shredding, which was a very pleasant and original surprise to these ears. This is not to mention that Plankton includes a percussionist by the name of Lars Normalm, in addition to their standard drummer. How many guitar-based bands have you seen with this element as a mainstay? Normalm’s lively vibe-enhancing bongos add another essential element to Plankton sound, which I feel also gives the band an original edge in today’s scene.
The self-titled Grooveyard Records release by Plankton features 12 tracks of instrumental bliss that is good to the earhole throughout and recalls a time when the soul of rock guitar was born. Honestly, for the instrumental guitar freak there is not a weak track on the offering. We may not have some of the guitarists of the past with us no longer, but they live on in Plankton, who bring this classic sound to a new generation of listeners who now have the opportunity to listen to and appreciate it in full digital sound.
---Steve Bauer
Academy of Shred - New York - 2002