There's so little to look forward to in these recession ridden times that I suppose bands have no option but to look backwards in time for inspiration. So the artists formerly known as Paper Planes but now known as Astral Planes have done that very thing and have turned up trumps with this mini album that fuses sixties kitsch pop and reverb laden early American punk into a genuinely enjoyable slab of ear candy.
A lot of this is due to the undeniable vocal charms of Jennifer Paley. If you were to take off the reverb and Ms Paley's winning voice then "Disconnected I know" would be mere indie rock. As if to prove that it's all in the details, a bucket full of surf guitar tears up "Rotten" transforming it into a whirling dervish of a sun soaked song that still reeks of cigarettes and basements. Most obviously retro is "Sleep of Reason" but that brings a big smile to your face as it drags both the Shangri-La's and The Nuns back into your mind. However, the song that you'll want to steal is "Doris Day". It's pure snarling urban badness and it's the song you wish you were.
Retro but in a good - nay, joyous - way, the Astral Planes EP serves to remind us that music can still actually be loud and fun. By the way, when did Glasgow last have a band this cool?