The Planes - "The Oracle"
The Planes are a fun band to see live. I was lucky enough to catch them back in early March of 2020 at Pet Rescue for what would be one of the last gigs in Brooklyn for…. well, the jury is still out as the pandemic rages on, but hopefully, live music will return in some capacity within the next six months. Though that particular show at Pet Rescue has developed a bit of scene folklore around it as a super spreader event prior to the coining of the term, I’ve carried the memory of that jam-packed gig with me through the concert-less months that followed, and I’ve especially held onto it during this frigid January. Now, as we approach the one year mark since that show, the Stephen Perry-led trio is sharing their newest song, “The Oracle.” We’re excited to premiere it today on Look At My Records!
“The Oracle” is the lead single from The Planes’ forthcoming EP, The Oracle of Marcy, which they wrote, recorded, and mixed in seven days for the Weekly EP Podcast. With the challenge of this condensed time frame in mind, the band sought to produce four stylistically distinct songs. Perry describes “The Oracle” as the “Sonic-Youth–inspired alternate tuning song,” and sure enough, their legendary style of dissonant guitars are the most potent force on the entire track. While Perry does get adventurous with the sound and tone of his guitar on “The Oracle,” things never stray too far from home, as he maintains a strong sense of melodicism similar to Sonic Youth’s mid-period major label releases. Basically, “The Oracle” still has great hooks - it hits that sweet spot between experimentation and the kind of solid pop songwriting heard on The Planes’ 2018 album, Sleep Like A Noble. Via e-mail, Perry shared that lyrically the song is “based on a Heraclitus quote about the Oracle of Delphi which my wife has tattooed on her wrist: ‘Neither speaks, nor conceals, but gives a sign.’”
Stream the track below!
The Oracle of Marcy is set for release on Friday, January 29th. Check out their past releases on Spotify and Bandcamp. Keep up with The Planes by following them on Instagram and liking them on Facebook.
