Music of 2026, # 13: PLASTIC FAMILY

NOTE:  Band information sourced through Bandcamp . . . . . .

Plastic Family is a pop-rock group known for high-energy, melodic music heavily inspired by acts like Wings, Supertramp, and Big Star. They are characterized by sweet harmonies and a modern, urgent take on classic pop sounds, with recent releases such as "Love & Heartbreak in High School / TV Screen". 

• Music Style: The band focuses on timeless melodies and pure energy.
• Recent Activity: As of late 2025/early 2026, they are promoting new singles and playing live shows.
• Influences: Their sound draws inspiration from 1970s pop-rock and power pop genres.
• Streaming/Online: Their music is available on platforms such as Bandcamp. 

Potential Distinctions:
Note that this group is distinct from other similarly named artists, such as the 1970s Japanese new wave band Plastics, the South African indie-rock band The Plastics, or the Plastic Ono Band. 

Listen/view at these links . . . . .

Plastic Family - Love And Heartbreak

Plastic Family - TV Screen

Music of 2026, # 11 : CARDINALS

Information sourced through the Bandcamp website . . . . . .

Cardinals are a rising six-piece Irish rock band from Cork, emerging in the mid-2020s with a distinct blend of traditional Irish music, post-punk, and indie art-rock. Known for their poetic songwriting and energetic live performances, the band released their debut album Masquerade on February 13, 2026, featuring popular singles like "Barbed Wire" and "Masquerade". 

Band Members

• Euan Manning: Vocals, Guitar
• Finn Manning: Accordion
• Oskar Gudinovic: Guitar
• Aaron Hurley: Bass
• Darragh: Drums, Tambourine, Glockenspiel 

Key Information & Style

• Origin: Cork, Ireland.
• Sound: A mix of noisy post-punk, traditional Irish influences, and melodic art-rock.
• Upcoming Activity: Touring the US in May 2026.
• Debut Album: Masquerade (2026). 

LISTEN HERE . . . . . .

Cardinals - Masquerade

Cardinals - I Like You (live)

Cardinals - Big Empty Heart

Cardinals - Barbed Wire

Book Review: HIDE by Kiersten White

HIDE by Kiersten White (Del Rey, May 2, 2023) Paperback, 272 pages. ISBN #9780593359259. 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . .

The challenge: Spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don’t get caught.

The prize: enough money to change everything.

Even though everyone is desperate to win—to seize a dream future or escape a haunting past—Mack is sure she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she’s an expert at that.

It’s the reason she’s alive and her family isn’t.

But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes that this competition is even more sinister than she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive.

Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide but nowhere to run.

Come out, come out, wherever you are.

 

My FOUR-STAR Review on the Goodreads website . . . .

Popular YA author Kiersten White's first foray into adult fiction is a winner. How far would someone be willing to go to attain success? Would they abandon their morals, and become conscious-less and sacrifice others? That's at the crux of this novel, which also has underlying social commentary about the haves and have-nots. 

An alleged reality-show survival game goes off the rails. The story features characters to care about and later lament their passing. There are several twists as the story moves along at a frenetic pace. There were several options for White to end the story, and I was extremely satisfied with her choice. 

Video: THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . . . . .

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is a 1958 American fantasy adventure film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Torin Thatcher, Richard Eyer and Alec Mango. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures and produced by Charles H. Schneer.

It was the first of three Sinbad feature films from Columbia, the later two from the 1970s being The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973) and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977). All three Sinbad films were conceptualized by Ray Harryhausen using Dynamation, the full color widescreen stop motion animation technique that he created.

While similarly named, the film does not follow the storyline of the tale "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor" but instead has more in common with the Third and Fifth voyages of Sinbad.

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad was selected in 2008 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Watch the video here . . . . .   7th Voyage of Sinbad Trailer

THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) channel: I first saw this when I was a kid and I was fascinated by it, especially the Cyclops. A great example of the stop-motion animation techniques of Ray Harryhausen. My favorite of the three Sinbad movies, with JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS being my all-time #1 Harryhausen movie. These are all still worth watching today. Quite magical.