Song Review - Buck Up And Pay The Reaper

Buck Up And Pay The Reaper

by Dear Plastic

Album: The Theives Of Babes (out May, 2014)

From Melbourne’s baroque pop five piece outfit comes the new single ‘Buck up and Pay the Reaper’. This single is from the forthcoming album The Thieves of Babes (release date May 2014). Last year Dear Plastic gifted our ears with the quirky, industrial electro pop gem EP Everything’s Coming up Roses. This new single adds another element of dramatics to the catalogue of this very capable and very likable group.


‘Buck up and Pay the Reaper’ starts with a slow and dirty 60s alternate surfy twang guitar and the oh-so-deep growl of vocalist Scarlette Baccini. The effect is pure sassiness with an almost film-like twist. The addition of the marimba-sounding keys truly brings the kink and kook to the mood of this intro and highlights the theatrics that Dear Plastic create so well.


The mood then shifts a little as Baccini’s vocal range soars a little higher before we are taken back into the depths again of the slightly melancholic groove. But to think this song follows a simple structure of light/heavy mood would be a mistake. The big builds and the vocals powering throughout to a crescendo are expertly crafted and one to be listened to up loud with no apology. The gorgeous pschyadelic effects are deliciously dark yet never alienating or never lose the thread of the melodics created. I was reminded a little of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with the tarnished rock feel and the big, brash, beautiful vocals.


‘Buck Up and Pay the Reaper’ finishes almost abruptly. Perhaps though - as this is a radio edit - the song is the perfect length with a dramatic end tactfully chosen. I wanted to hear the song immediately again to enjoy the journey’s build. This is epic pop at its most dramatic and for me needs a few listens to really appreciate its layers and structural movements. As with Everything’s Coming up Roses for me Baccini’s voice is the star in this sound. Her raw yet warm and vibrantly earthed voice is the eagle which you will want to hold onto to take the flight of this journey.

Lou Endicott gives 'Buck Up And Pay The Reaper' five Karen O heads out of five...


Dear Plastic are launching this fantastic new single this Friday at The Ding Dong Lounge in Melbourne. Get there!