From the moment you push play you have 35 seconds to secure any breakable objects in the room or hold onto any weak fillings. The opening hypnotic bass line lulls you into a funky-but-false sense of security because at 36 seconds all hell breaks loose with the kind of sonic assault that should have someone shout “incoming!” beforehand.
Rory Dickson’s bass is deliciously abrasive, Michalis Fragkiadakis’ guitar is all banshee-screams and broken glass, and how Max Mason keeps that thunderous, rock-solid beat while simultaneously screaming into the void is beyond me. The band say their sound is a mix of ‘dark goth-disco, techno and distorted noise-rock’ I would not disagree. For those of us who miss the punishing landslide of sound from Girls In Synthesis (who disbanded in early 2025) then Test Plan have got you covered.
The video, filmed in the empty swimming pool of a disused east London leisure centre-turned-squat, is also exhilarating. It was shot by Melody Wayfare and directed and edited by Mason. It has a wicked sense of movement with fast edits and whip-pans from shot to shot. It’s rare to hear a song with so much power that is equally matched by the sheer kinetic anger of the video. This is a signal we’re receiving very loud and very clear.
Test Plan were happy for Joyzine readers to hear the track and see the video ahead of its official release on 3 November.
‘Signal’ is taken from a forthcoming EP due for release in 2027
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Review by Paul F Cook
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