Large Plants: The Carrier LP

Following his debut Large Plants single, a quirky psychedelic rock cover of Madonna's 'La Isla Bonita', Jack Sharp throws down a full album of contemporary analogue fluttered soundtrack rawk for Ghost Box.

If you think about it, Large Plants' debut album fits into the Ghost Box catalogue perfectly. While a rock album might initially feel counter to Ghost Box's quirksome mix of early electronic bleeps and whimsical folk, "The Carrier" exists in the same parallel Gen X fantasy timeline, all tape fluttered and soundtrack-indebted. The aesthetic is a little different, but the spirit remains the same.

"The Carrier" is Jack Sharp's debut Large Plants album, and was recorded after a writing frenzy during 2020's lockdown. The singer and guitarist for now defunct Jagjaguwar psych-rock act Wolf People, Large Plants was Sharp's attempt to go it alone, and continue his obsessive recreation of '70s rawk sounds unhindered by the rest of the band's desires. Like the cheeky Madonna-covering advance single, these songs are balanced on a knowing wink that acknowledges the juxtaposition of writing music like this in the 2020s.

Thankfully, Sharp's vocals just stop the music from tipping wholeheartedly into pastiche. His folksy qualities nod to sturdy British legends like Pentangle, reminding of a simpler, more analogue era. Like the rest of the Ghost Box output, then.