With the release of their critically applauded 2013 effort One Big Particular Loop, the St. Petersburg-based experimental pop trio Polyenso, comprised of Brennan Taulbee, Denny Agosto, and Alexander Schultz, received attention for a particularly unique take on electro pop and indie rock. Over the past three years, the members of Polyenso have worked exclusively with producer Jason Pennock on the material that would wind up comprising their most recent effort, Pure In The Plastic, which was released earlier this year. And interestingly enough, Pure In The Plastic had the trio drawing from much wider influences — including Flying Lotus, The Roots, Bright Eyes, Bjork and others; and as a result, the album’s sound possesses elements of hip-hop, neo-soul, experimental pop, synth pop, electronic music, trip hop and others.
The album’s latest single is the cinematic and moody “17 New Years” which has the trio pairing plaintive vocals with an atmospheric production consisting of swirling and undulating electronics, brief burts of shimmering guitar chords played through gentle amounts of reverb and piano to craft a song that sonically reminds me quite a bit of The Darcys‘ Warring. Adding to song’s moodiness, as the trio’s Alex Schultz explains in press notes, “The chorus is about that moment in a relationship when you realize that the person you love is using you as a scapegoat for their past emotional injuries. And despite how much you care for an desire this person, you can’t let them bring you down.” And as a result, the song possesses a weighty sense of its narrator being at an important personal crossroads with the recognition that the impact of their relationships and decisions altering the course of their life.
The recently released music video for “17 New Years” is a gorgeously and cinematically shot video full of symbolic sequences including the trio’s lead vocalist led by handcuffs on the beach, two lengthy extensive black and sequences featuring the band performing the song in a darkened studio with two modern dancers expressive and sensually dancing around the members of the band and themselves, as well as a sequence that involves the band members dramatically free-falling into the sea. In other words, it possesses a haunting dream-like logic.
