Florence’s premier psych-pop voyagers, Plastic Man, return with a hypnotic live session filmed at GRS Recording Studio, offering a raw and radiant reimagining of key tracks from their latest album The End and the Beginning (April 2025), and an early gem from their debut EP. Shot in an atmospheric studio setting, the session feels like both a homecoming and a reinvention—a band stepping boldly into its next phase while staying rooted in the dreamlike dissonance that first made them cult heroes.
Featuring the woozy, synth-laced heartbreak of “Molly,” the fuzzed-out urgency of “Mate,” and the fan-favourite “He Didn’t Know,” the set showcases Plastic Man’s uncanny ability to channel ‘60s psychedelia through a thoroughly modern, emotionally nuanced lens. The performances feel lived-in, charged with new blood, and musically tighter than ever, thanks in no small part to the group’s dynamic new lineup.
At the helm is founding frontman Raffaele Lampronti, whose magnetic presence and expressive vocals guide the session’s shifting moods—from reverie to revelation. The updated arrangement of “He Didn’t Know” adds a darker, more muscular edge to the track, revealing how far the band has travelled since their 2013 debut via Misty Lane Records.
Their third album, The End and the Beginning, released earlier this year to critical acclaim, leans into heavier sonic territory while retaining the kaleidoscopic charm fans expect. Drawing from the murky grit of Cream and the mind-bending textures of XTC and 13th Floor Elevators, the record meditates on themes of loss, evolution, and the strange beauty of impermanence—a tone perfectly echoed in this live performance.
Known for touring across Europe and sharing bills with names like Mick Quinn (Supergrass), Plastic Man took a pandemic-imposed pause but returned in 2025 with newfound focus. This GRS session is a vivid snapshot of a band reborn—still swirling with psychedelic colour, but grounded by a deeper emotional weight and a sharpened sense of purpose.
For longtime fans and new listeners alike, this performance is more than a session—it’s a transmission from a band entering its most exciting chapter yet. Psychedelic, poetic, and powerfully alive, Plastic Man proves once again that reinvention doesn’t mean erasure, it means evolution.
