Plastic Handgun, "Involuntary Memories"

I have been impressed recently by a few solo artists out there creating really new and different sounds. I have added Plastic Handgun to that list. Plastic Handgun is the project of Mark Di Giovanni, who is based in Toronto. With his release of Involuntary Memories last month, he is experimenting with rock, electronic music, a tinge of shoegazey reverb all while layering a myriad of sounds that produce a solid final product with his 10 track electronic release.

Most of the tracks are instrumental and provide a mix of many different influences including MGMT and Animal Collective. I am always searching for good instrumental tracks as it’s a genre I quite respect and enjoy listening to. If this album would have been released at the time we posted our Mundo Instrumental list, I would have definitely included Plastic Handgun in that list. “Capillary Vessel” is my favorite – it is a stellar instrumental track with strong guitar throughout and very nice highs and lows. “Eustachian Tube” is also a great track, a heavier synth driven one that reminds me of Boards of Canada.

I enjoyed the few tracks with lyrics and vocals which are “Introverts”, “Lisbon”, “The Dust You Kick Up Is Too Fine” and the closer “Mirror Stage”. The tracks with vocals give me a shoegaze vibe as there is heavy reverb and an overall laid back tone. I am definitely adding some of these tracks to my commuter list, and will follow and keep an eye on Mr. Di Giovanni and see what other unique and experimental sounds he conjures up next. His release is definitely layered and complex, and one that I will need to listen to multiple times to properly admire.

Overall I am impressed that one person can produce and release an entire album on their own so I do give much respect to Mr. Di Giovanni.

Involuntary Memories is streaming on SoundCloud, Spotify and can be purchased on Bandcamp and i-Tunes. I’m including my two favorite tracks – Eustachian Tube and Capillary Vessel.