Plastic Act: "I Think When Any Kind of Art Is Too on the Nose, It Usually Sucks. You Have To Leave Room for People To Make Up Their Minds on What You're Trying To Say"

Snap, crackle, and pop! Plastic Act, the solo moniker of Private Lives bassist Josh Herlihey, injects more sonically destructive rock 'n' roll on his forthcoming EP, Now!, coming out January 24th on Bachelor Records (The Incredible Kidda Band, The Shivvers, The Whiffs). Today he shared with us the first tune, "Everywhere I Go," another underground hit armed with Velvets-worship pop hooks and flesh-melting distortion that strike with a subversive edge—it's art in wartime! The three songs on Now! are more tightened with a muscular energy and youthful zeal of '70s skinny-tie power pop whereas 2023's self-titled debut EP aimed more towards overblown, feed-back drenched rock 'n' roll. Across the new EP, Herlihey also enlisted his Private Lives bandmates—Drew Demers on drums and Chance Hutchison on backing vocals—along with Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux playing sax on the B-side "Hard To Come By." To delve deeper, I chatted with Herlihey all about the recording of the new EP, putting together a Super 8-filmed music video, and plans to put together a live band.

What have you been up to as of late? Any good music or books you've been digging into you'd like to share? 

Josh Herlihey: I'm currently reading One Man's Terrorist: A Political History of the IRA. It's not the easiest book to follow, but the content is great. A few books ago I read Scoundrel Time by Lillian Hellman, which I'll plug anytime I get the chance. It's a criminally underrated book. McCarthyism is coming back in full swing, so it's worth a read. I've been listening to The Dogs a lot. "M.A.U.R.E.E.N" and "Can't Find My Baby" are perfect songs. Really, anything off Legendary Lovers is great though. As for contemporary stuff, the new Lavender Jets record is amazing, so that's been on repeat. Also, I find myself returning to the Workers Comp LP, it was one of my favorites from last year.

Thanks for sharing the new music video for "Everywhere I Go." What's the story behind the new single and what can you tell me about how the video came together? 

Keeping it as open-ended as possible, the premise circles around progress, and what that means for art. I can see a few timely ways people might interpret the song, none of which would be wrong. We shot the video on my Super 8. I hadn’t shot on film in a while, so it was nice to get back into it. My pal Billy Riley helped out behind the lens too which was great. Every shot was drawn up and timed well in advance, so there wasn’t a lot of guesswork once we got to it. I'm not one for spontaneity when it comes to these sorts of things. I like to really plan things out and stress over the details, it’s just the way I work. A few of the shots were taken in my apartment, but most were done at the studio. It took a while to frame some of them, the mirror shot was especially tricky. Building the dotted background for the tambourine shots was extra tough. I rigged a contraption with my drill to get the spinning motion, it was tedious but fun! It's always a bit nerve-wracking shooting on film, putting so much time and effort into something you're not sure will turn out. But when it does, it's very rewarding.

When and where did you get to work on the new 7"? How would you describe working on it compared to 2023's debut 7"? 

This time around, we recorded in studio with Adrian Popovich (he also recorded Private Lives' Hit Record), whereas the first 7" was recorded in a jam space. Both have their pros and cons, but I think these songs lent themselves to a studio treatment more than the first batch did. The first release was all me, which was cool, but it's always better when you can bring other people in. Having Drew Demers (Private Lives, Priors, The Famines) on the drums was huge, it made it so much better. My process didn't change much, I still demoed all of the parts myself, but he added a lot of nuance and really tightened everything up. Chance Hutchison (Private Lives, Prior, Sonic Avenues) also lent a big hand on the backup vocals, which was great. I would follow his lead in the booth, since I'm usually out of key anyway [laughs]. 

Diving into the other two tracks on the upcoming 7", what can you tell me about "TV Sex"? 

I think when any kind of art is too on the nose, it usually sucks. You have to leave room for people to make up their minds on what you're trying to say. I think that's imperative to good songwriting. This song is quite satirical in that sense, it can be about a lot of things, but it’s certainly not about sex. I had "TV Sex" written down in a list of potential band names, but eventually it made its way into a song. Sometimes if it sounds good, you just go with it.

What were the inspirations behind "Hard It Come By"? 

This song has taken on many different renditions over the years, or at least the title "Hard to Come By." I had tried a few different versions of it, different music and lyrics with other bands and it never really fit. I had forgotten about it for a while, but one day the bassline came to me and it sparked something. When I look at the record as a whole, this song always stood out as a B-side. I’m not sure there will be other Plastic Act songs like it in the future. I hear a lot of Orange Juice in it. I was also listening to The Clean more than usual at the time, so that definitely influenced my writing. I had written the sax line on guitar and had it in the demo, but it took a while to get right. I sent it around to a few different players, all of whom did great renditions on it, but it just wasn't working. Eventually, I asked Montreal local Christoph Lamarche-Ledoux to try it out and he nailed it.

Last time we talked, you mentioned you were putting a group together to play these songs live. What's the word on that right now? 

That's in the works and will likely start to pick up this year. It's a balancing act, you never want a band to feel like a chore. Private Lives will start to get busy soon enough. Folks are in other bands, have busy jobs, kids! We're not 18 anymore. At the very least I want to do a few weekend runs, but at this time it's still to be determined.

Last year, you contributed the track "Wild Heart" for our PCRF benefit tape. What can you tell readers about how that song came about? 

What a great comp! I was super happy to get the opportunity to contribute. "Wild Heart" was recorded in the same session. It’s my favorite one lyrically out of the bunch, and I love the drums on it. "Any Direction" by Love Banana, or Mod Lang's "TV Star" are standouts to me. I'm excited about both of those bands right now.

What were some of the highlights to Private Lives' weekend tour in the US last summer? 

Definitely playing with Mod Lang and Liquid Images in Detroit. Both of those bands are amazing. I was singing "TV Star" for weeks after that!

What details can you share about the new Private Lives LP? When's that expected to roll out this year? 

That'll be hitting the streets very soon. I think it's quite a step up compared to the first LP, a lot fuller. We're all very excited to get it out there.

What are some future plans for Plastic Act? 

Next stop is a full-length and to book some shows. I've got six or seven songs pretty much good to go, I just need to finish a few more and flush out the details.

Anything else you'd like to share with readers? Last word is yours. 

Art shouldn't be easy. And thanks for listening!

Now! is out January 24th on Bachelor Records.