{"id":42359,"date":"2025-05-26T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=42359"},"modified":"2025-05-07T16:50:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T20:50:36","slug":"toasted-midi-dreams-plastic-hacks-fabulously-melancholy-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=42359","title":{"rendered":"Toasted MIDI dreams: Plastic Hacks\u2019 \u2018Fabulously Melancholy\u2019 debut"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Plastic Hacks might just be the perfect soundtrack for your next daydream. Imagine twin brothers Brandon and Bryan Peach\u2014separated by life\u2019s twists for nearly twenty years\u2014finally reuniting over a toasted MIDI cable. One of them dives into beat programming and synth wizardry, while the other weaves melodies and pens lyrics. The result? Something that feels both familiar and slightly askew: part bedroom pop, part post-punk residue, all shimmering with warm pads, glitchy textures, and harmonies that nudge you out of sync just enough to keep things interesting. Picture New Order running through sidechain compression into a fuzzy bassline, or LCD Soundsystem after a steady diet of AOL chats and youth-group confessions. It\u2019s pop music that remembers what it\u2019s like to be human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their debut LP,\u00a0\u2018<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/plastichacks.bandcamp.com\/album\/fabulously-melancholy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Fabulously Melancholy<\/a><\/strong>,\u2019 arrived via Friend Club Records, and it drifts in like a half-forgotten memory you can\u2019t stop replaying. Across ten tracks, Plastic Hacks layer glitchy rhythms and harmonized vocals warped by circuitry over melodies that twist and turn without ever quite resolving. There\u2019s warmth here, but it\u2019s the kind you feel standing in front of an old CRT TV\u2014dark room, low hum, all your attention locked onto that glowing screen. Songs like <em>Medicine Cabinet<\/em> offer a pill-counting self-interrogation, while <em>Get It Together!<\/em> feels like a pep talk trapped in an infinite loop, and <em>Meet You in Chelsea<\/em> reads like a postcard from someone too heartbreakingly lovely to ever reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nothing on&nbsp;\u2018<strong>Fabulously Melancholy<\/strong>\u2019&nbsp;bows to neat conclusions. These tracks flicker, repeat, and occasionally fray at the edges\u2014just like when you find yourself staring at that \u201cseen\u201d receipt a little too long and calling it introspection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re curious, catch the premiere of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/newnoisemagazine.com\/premieres\/track-premiere-plastic-hacks-eight-straight-days-of-fresh-hell\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Eight Straight Days of Fresh Hell<\/a><\/em> over at New Noise Magazine\u2014trust me, you\u2019ll want to hear that bass groove first thing in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bryan Peach takes us behind the scenes of that song: <em>\u201cMy process usually starts with synthesis and programming, but one morning I woke up with this exact bouncing, round bass line in my head\u2014Roland Juno-6 and all\u2014so I ran with it. We layered cello and violin strings that sound almost too joyful at first, then let them turn a bit dishonest as the story unfolds. The glass-like sequence in the first half takes a darker turn into the relative minor, pulling the listener from a sunny beach day into something a little more uncertain. That lingering fade-out? It doesn\u2019t answer anything\u2014it just asks everything.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ready to get fabulously, gloriously melancholy? Let Plastic Hacks guide you through the glow and the grit of their debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Plastic Hacks might just be the perfect soundtrack for your next daydream. Imagine twin brothers Brandon and Bryan Peach\u2014separated by life\u2019s twists for nearly twenty <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=42359\" title=\"Toasted MIDI dreams: Plastic Hacks\u2019 \u2018Fabulously Melancholy\u2019 debut\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13,23,28,30,1907],"tags":[12565,12566,12564],"class_list":["post-42359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-electronic-music","category-indie","category-music","category-new-release","category-news","tag-fabulously-melancholy","tag-midi","tag-plastic-hacks"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/IMG_4495-e1746650890391.jpeg?fit=993%2C670","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2B2TV-b1d","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38017,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=38017","url_meta":{"origin":42359,"position":0},"title":"black midi announce &#8216;Hellfire&#8217; + share \u2018Welcome To Hell\u2019","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"May 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"black midi announce their third album,\u00a0\u2018Hellfire,\u2019 out\u00a015th July\u00a0on Rough Trade Records, headline shows at\u00a0Somerset House\u00a0&\u00a0Central Park\u00a0NYC and a US Tour this fall. They've shared the album\u2019s lead single\u00a0Welcome To Hell. Watch the super cool animated video for Welcome To Hell via YouTube below. https:\/\/youtu.be\/Efmq_uXt1Rk \u2018Hellfire\u2019 is available on Limited Edition\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;guitar rock&quot;","block_context":{"text":"guitar rock","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"black midi hellfire cover artwork","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/7EE62AB9-DF38-443F-9904-D9C6381F7BAD.jpeg?fit=800%2C800&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/7EE62AB9-DF38-443F-9904-D9C6381F7BAD.jpeg?fit=800%2C800&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/7EE62AB9-DF38-443F-9904-D9C6381F7BAD.jpeg?fit=800%2C800&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/7EE62AB9-DF38-443F-9904-D9C6381F7BAD.jpeg?fit=800%2C800&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35906,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=35906","url_meta":{"origin":42359,"position":1},"title":"PVA share new remixes by DJ Dairy (black midi) + INK (Squid)","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"March 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"PVA have returned with the release of two new remixes of their critically acclaimed single Talks. The remixes come from\u00a0black midi\u2019s DJ Dairy\u00a0and\u00a0Squid\u2019s INK, and follow the band\u2019s debut EP \u2018Toner\u2019 which was released last November via Ninja Tune imprint\u00a0Big Dada\u00a0(Young Fathers, Kae Tempest, Roots Manuva etc.)Speaking about his remix\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;electronic music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"electronic music","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"PVA press photo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/4F47BF74-6FC6-457B-AA81-B75D96CBA1C2.jpeg?fit=900%2C690&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/4F47BF74-6FC6-457B-AA81-B75D96CBA1C2.jpeg?fit=900%2C690&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/4F47BF74-6FC6-457B-AA81-B75D96CBA1C2.jpeg?fit=900%2C690&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/4F47BF74-6FC6-457B-AA81-B75D96CBA1C2.jpeg?fit=900%2C690&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":607,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=607","url_meta":{"origin":42359,"position":2},"title":"Electronics addiction: SchneidersLaden","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"August 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"SchneidersBuero was founded in 1999 as a distributor and common marketing platform for various electronic devices for making music which include hardware synthesizers, sequencers, drum machines, analogue modular systems, midi tools, controllers, and converters. They have showrooms in Berlin, Germany and London, UK. I visited their shop, SchneidersLaden in Kreuzberg\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;electronic music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"electronic music","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"Schneidersladen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/we_will_kraut_you11.jpg?fit=591%2C418&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/we_will_kraut_you11.jpg?fit=591%2C418&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/we_will_kraut_you11.jpg?fit=591%2C418&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26696,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=26696","url_meta":{"origin":42359,"position":3},"title":"FUR releases &#8216;Cruel Summer&#8217; cover","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"September 7, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As a way of celebrating the end of another Summer, FUR have got back together after a nearly five year hiatus and thought it would be both fun and appropriate to record an end-of-the-Summer cover song. They discovered Bananarama and Cruel Summer from watching Karate Kid; while it is undeniably\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;indie&quot;","block_context":{"text":"indie","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"FUR","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/0009472606_10.jpg?fit=775%2C581&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/0009472606_10.jpg?fit=775%2C581&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/0009472606_10.jpg?fit=775%2C581&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/0009472606_10.jpg?fit=775%2C581&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1504,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=1504","url_meta":{"origin":42359,"position":4},"title":"Music Video Addiction: Sunday December 4, 2011 edition","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"December 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week we were dancey, and this week we get a little rock'n'roll. We hope you enjoy this week's music videos. The Black Keys: Next Girl\u00a0- can't beat a dinosaur puppet in a video. Peaches & Iggy Pop: Kick It\u00a0- still love this grungy track. Dirty Beaches: Lone Runner- very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"music","link":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?cat=28"},"img":{"alt_text":"Music Video Addiction","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/music-video-addiction-gif.gif?fit=526%2C398&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/music-video-addiction-gif.gif?fit=526%2C398&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cultureaddicts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/music-video-addiction-gif.gif?fit=526%2C398&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45585,"url":"http:\/\/cultureaddicts.com\/?p=45585","url_meta":{"origin":42359,"position":5},"title":"Meet Maniac Maison: The Brussels trio turning jazz brains into synth-pop gold","author":"cultureaddicts","date":"May 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Brussels-based three-piece Maniac Maison are making their grand entrance with New Museum, the lead single from their forthcoming self-titled debut album, out May 22 via Belgian DIY label Humpty Dumpty Records. 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