PLEXI 3
Plexi 3 is a Milwaukee three-piece that has been doing the rounds over the last couple years, playing their signature brand of infectious power pop with trade-off male and female vocals. With two out-of-print vinyl singles under their belts, Wendy Norton on vocals and guitar, Adam Widener on vocals and bass, and Ryan King on drums, Plexi 3 brings back the girl group pop sound of the '60s mixed with Midwest punk attitude.
On the A-side of their third single, the trio brings us "Timebox", a catchy pop take on screwed up humanity. The B-side brings us "What Love Is For", a fiery power pop jam about, you guessed it, a girl. Don't miss out on Plexi 3, the true Midwest power pop sound!
First 100 on clear vinyl are available online from the Full Breach Kicks website.
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REAL DETROIT WEEKLY – ABOUT PLEXI 3:
Coming at you straight out of Milwaukee, WI, Plexi 3 will fulfill all your punk-meets-power pop wants and wishes this week when they come to Detroit. Featuring Wendy Norton on guitar/vocals, Adam Widener on bass/vocals, and drummer Ryan King, the group takes on a different array of genres and pulls them into one formative sound that truly works. With bits and flakes of Nikki Corvette's power pop sass, the crunch of Steve Jones guitar on Nevermind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols and the writing style of girl groups like The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las, Plexi 3 has a punk-leaning sound with a nice added pop touch. The trio will be playing a show at Baker’s Street Car Bar on May 23 with Wooden Teeth, Kommie Kilpatrick, and Loose Cannons.
L.A. EXAMINER – ABOUT TIMEBOX:
Members of Milwaukee's Plexi 3 first made the scene at the turn of the century in snot-and-fury-filled garage punk band The Kill-a-watts, releasing a couple of LPs and a handful of seven inches before fading from the music map. Teens at the time, they are now full-blown twenty-somethings with a new band, a new sound, and a more sophisticated lyricism in their corner. Part of the current rock 'n' roll renaissance raging in the Midwest, Plexi 3 already has two out-of-print singles under their wide Mod belts, but their best effort to date arrived on my doorstep yesterday after several months of waiting. Chicago's stellar Full Breach Kicks (particularly notable for reissuing several early outings from LA glam punk band The Joneses on vinyl) is the label behind this fine single. “Timebox” backed with "What Love Is For", a pair of winning numbers that meld punk sensibilities with a mod power pop musical approach for a very unique – and thrilling – effect. oth songs go down easy and beg for repeat spins on the turntable. The first 100 copies are on clear vinyl. The band's 2008 Hozac Records single made my Top 10 Singles roundup for last year, and so far this new outing is one of my favorite records of 2009. Take a moment to preview the title song on the band's MySpace page before ordering your very own copy.
TERMINAL BOREDOM – ABOUT PLEXI 3:
From the ashes of The Monitors come Plexi 3 with Ryan Kill-A-Watt back behind the drums in Sir Snacks-A-Lot mode and Wendy Norton of Lookers and Kryptonite Records fame on guitar. Hotbed of music that Wisconsin is, I probably know more about the players in bands from the state that I need to, and while I may not be enough of a local to make such claims, I'm going to say that this is the band Ryan and Wendy were destined to be in. I loved the dig-these-kids-snot of the Kill-A-Watts and the schticky electro-punk of The Monitors, but I think their talents are finally fulfilled with this outfit. Exquisitely crafted two minute pop rock 'n' roll songs with hooks galore, fantastic vocal harmonies, well written lyrics, and near-flawless playing, plus great outfits and image, highly entertaining live presence, there isn't much missing from this package. They pull various influences (mod, punk, girl group melodies, sixties pop) together to create music that seems so simple it's frightening. It's as if they finally found some secret formula people have been seeking for ages. But it's probably just two very talented song writers and musicians ending up in the right circumstances. They should release an LP immediately instead of teasing us with more singles. But I will take what I can get. Best band in Wisconsin right now.
SMASHIN' TRANSISTORS – ABOUT PLEXI 3:
To look into the future it's best to take a step back in the past. Plexi 3 have one eye on modern sleekness and the other on the obtuse, flashy, and unique over the top design of the past. Part girl group and Midwest quirk, a bit of surly attitude, yet all sparkly.
THE NEEDLE DROP – ABOUT PLEXI 3:
For such a happy-go-lucky trio, Plexi 3 is tight, focused, and delivers their music well; it's nice to hear a fine balance between catchy songwriting and well-executed playing. They don't completely rely on the volume and energy of their punk-influenced pop to carry things along either.
HORIZONTAL ACTION – ABOUT PLEXI 3:
Milwaukee hits another home run with the spectacular pop tornado known as Plexi 3. If you haven't already coveted their first single on Dusty Medical from last year, it's time to catch up now. It's all going to cave your face in with the greatest dual vocal harmonies you're gonna hear all year long. Catch them on tour this summer!
NOW WAVE – ABOUT PLEXI 3:
I've been craving something more from garage lately, namely a garage band that boasted singers, not uh, "talkers in tempo". So it's a yay! Plexi 3 is all about the singing and (gasp!) harmonies. It goes amazingly well with the staccato guitar chord progressions. Oh thank you Plexi 3 for shaking it up. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And what could be awesome-r than that?
VICTIM OF TIME – ABOUT PLEXI 3:
Plexi 3 have always got what it takes to put together some of the catchiest songs you're ever gonna hear. They have already carved out a perfect niche for themselves which sheds their previous band associations and pushes them right to the top of today's best rock 'n' roll songwriting. Don't miss them when they roll through your town.
MIKE MAGAZINE – ABOUT PLEXI 3:
Never heard of them? That's not surprising. While Plexi 3 isn't a household name, savvy local music heads might recognize the names Kill-A-Watts and Monitors, bands that two-thirds of Plexi 3 count as springboards for this new project, spearheaded by Wendy Norton. How did she hook up a super-trio of local musicians? "We all know each other from the Milwaukee rock 'n' roll scene," says Norton, 25. "We were all fans of each other's bands." Norton's old label, the defunct Kryptonite Records, put out a single for the Kill-A-Watts, Plexi 3 drummer Ryan King's band at the time. Then Norton and King joined the Monitors after the Kill-A-Watts broke up. While Monitors was "really new wave and fun," according to Norton, both musicians wanted to work on a more pop-oriented project.
