Los Angeles duo Plastic Rhino offer up an engaging hard rock sound that pushes boundaries by incorporating elements of metal, pop and electronica while having an eye for the dramatic in their music videos.
The duo of Atara (vocals) and Jack Glazer (guitar, bass, production) met on Craigslist when Atara auditioned for Jack’s band. And, in her words: “I showed up to the audition, met Jack, fell in love, convinced Jack to leave that band and start an original project with me – and the rest is history, as they say.”
On what to expect from the Plastic Rhino sound, Atara told us: “That is so hard because what we are actually influenced by and what people get from our songs always seem to be different. On TAKEITALL – we were tapping into the modern rock sound of Sleep Token, Bring Me the Horizon, Poppy, Halestorm and I Prevail collabs. Not sure what the world has gotten from it yet, but it is funny reading back comments from music tastemakers when they come up with the farthest from the bands.”
As alluded to, Plastic Rhino just released their latest single TAKEITALL. It opens up with engaging vocals over light bassy sounds before instrumentals kick in as the pace builds, then slows with echoey vocals “Flesh for flesh, blood on skin, I crave the taste, Your scent again” and a twinkling synth that lead us into a big singalong chorus. Everything drops out after the second chorus, then electronic stabs and vocals lead into a huge breakdown of heavy guitars and screams. That drops into light guitars and vocals building up to a more electronic final blast of the chorus. Check it out in the awesome jazzercise-themed video here:
That track follows a strong back-catalogue of material, including their 2022 album Terminus, which includes big tracks like King and Bleeding Heart, and recent single, I Rise, which was recorded at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the UK. Atara told us: “Twice a year, the studio offers a Producer Camp to all levels of musicians and producers all over the world to come and learn the art of recording and creating a song from scratch. Jack and I got lucky, got in the Fall program, got to go write and record an entire song from scratch in three days with some of the best UK musicians and producers in the world… and our song I Rise came from it! It was the coolest experience we have ever had as musicians!” Check it out here:
The Plastic Rhino sound is influenced by a wide range of artists and genres, which changes with every song. Atara explained: “I can tell you who I’ve always wanted to be as a musician and that is Chino Moreno from Deftones and Crosses musically, and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave vocally. I think Jack is just trying to be Eddie Van Halen!”
And on what inspires them to write music, she added: “Modern life. What is happening currently in our lives. TAKEITALL was written about our producer, who was in this very fast love/real love, can’t keep away from each other, move in together relationship – that turned toxic and dangerous within a year. So TAKEITALL is about him and his experience with his ex.”
Plastic Rhino plan to release at least one more song this year, and potentially two as they look to create their next EP. They also hope to tour one day, if the opportunity is right.
You can follow Plastic Rhino on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
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