Plow United – Sleepwalk: A Retrospective

Two types of people will tune in to Plow United’s Sleepwalk A Retrospective; those who recall the band’s initial seven-year stint, and fresh faced newcomers like myself.  From my outsider perspective, I’ve come to see the Wilmington, Delaware three-piece largely as the 90’s pre-internet generation’s Lawrence Arms.  While certainly less prolific, there’s something about their underground cult status and rabid fan appreciation that only comes along every few years.

Existing between 1992 and 1998, Plow United embodies the heart of 90’s pop punk culture, and neatly takes a little something from the Lookout!, Epitaph, and Fat Wreck Chords love triangle that filtered most fans’ listening habits.  Containing thirty-four choice-cuts from their career spanning full lengths Plow United, Goodnight Sellout, and Narcolepsy (as well a split, 7”, and a lone unreleased track), Sleepwalk is the underground equivalent to a greatest hits package and appropriate introduction to a band that time forgot but fans remembered.

I’ll admit being surprised at just how well Plow United’s library of work holds up.  Sloppy melodic pop-punk that never attempts to be more than it is, Sleepwalk offers a circus of high flying fun in a series of short sub-two-minute tunes that please just as much on their own as they do collectively.  Always entertaining and never overdone, many of today’s young upstarts still strive for the unhinged and carefree conduct denoting Brian McGee’s snotty, youthful banter.  Songs like “Poison Berries” and “That Girl” bound along with an endearing, off-key affection for breakneck drumming, distorted lead guitar, and a flagrant disregard for any extraneous expectations.  There’s a little something for everyone, from the addictive “woa-o-oh” finale closing “Martin,” to the juxtaposed trickle of soft piano keys popping up in “Plow II’s” rowdy slamfest.  That Sleepwalk never takes itself too seriously works entirely in Plow United’s favour, demonstrating their willingness to throw caution to the wind and just play.

With each of their previous albums long since out of print, the overwhelming fan reaction to Sleepwalk: A Retrospective solidifies Plow United’s legacy and seldom acknowledged impact.  That I found myself so able to jump readily into Sleepwalk eleven years post-mortem and enjoy it as much as any fan a decade ago is telling.  Sure, at its core Sleepwalk is – plain and simple – just a care-free pop punk album, but it’s a damn good one at that.  I for one am glad that Paper + Plastick Records saw worthy of bridging the generational gap and giving us relative young guns a chance to experience the band anew.  Word on the street is that the band has ended their hiatus and is buckling down to record a fourth installment.  If the magnitude of that statement means nothing to you now, it sure will once you give Sleepwalk a spin.