“Plastic Mannequin” by JAM

Welcome back for the second installment of the Port City Experiment’s Song of the Week. Without further ado and with great pleasure, we are overjoyed to introduce JAM’s 2022 single Plastic Mannequin off of the “Ruffle My Jammies” EP. JAM as a name works doubly to define the members of the group, Joey Rickman and Mason Spence, and as a subtle clue as to what to expect from any of their performances. 

It is easy to get wrapped up in the mechanics that make up JAM’s physical stage setup. Busking is a long established art, a chance for the everyday musicians of the world to have their own stage. Novice or expert, one trumpet or an array of instruments played by different parts of the body; musicians worldwide take to a busy corner on a bustling street looking to provide their own noise into the mix. Joey and Mason may each hold a guitar in their hands, but venture your eyes south and you’ll notice that all the drumming is done by foot. Each taking half of the responsibilities, using the chemistry built over years, and forming the rhythm section of every song while still managing guitar parts and vocals.    

I have heard JAM described as a nomadic musical circus of two, hauling their life’s work back and forth across the confines of North Carolina on a daily basis. They officially began playing shows in the Morehead area around 2018, but the connection—tangible and deeply felt between these two lifelong friends—leaves many thinking they’ve existed as a duo in many lives both present and past.   

Song Description

Plastic Mannequin exists in two parts for me. The first half is a lullaby, a beginning stage of thought about one’s situation inevitably leading to a spiral. Harmonic melodies paired with the melancholic tone of Mason’s voice present imagery of a recently heartbroken soul. 

“Wishing I was more than a plastic mannequin,” numbness rises after a heartbreak, a barrier we put up to protect from further hurt and allow a chance for grief before healing. The song serves as an exploration of the stages of grief and unravels as the song progresses. 

The second verse dips itself into the maddening aspects of anger and denial. “ Startled by the fact that / You left it all for what.” The tension built in the song leads to guttural admittance of shame in the last line of the second verse. After a repeat of the chorus, the second act of the song kicks in. The residual energy leftover after rage and confusion have run their course, leaving one physically and mentally exhausted. The final lines of the song prompt a balance of acceptance and reflection, the beginning stages of healing. “I’m sorry for the cold truth /Trust me you wouldn’t want to /Love a plastic mannequin.”

Part storytelling, part therapeutic release of a journal entry; JAM finds a home and comfort in vulnerability. 

What’s Next

Next in store for JAM

JAM seemingly plays a mind numbing amount of shows, playing 3 hour sets in downtown Wilmington on a Friday night and then traveling to cities several hours north to run it back. Even fresh off a Spring tour there are ample opportunities to see JAM live. Find them @joeyandmason.official on Instagram to stay in tune. 

Ben “Danger” Matthews | PCE

Chief Word Person

“Will To Be” by Cancel

Introducing our first edition of the Port City Experiment Song of the Week, we bring you “Will To Be” by Cancel. Cancel has been playing shows around the Wilmington area for just over two years now. From beginning sessions at mom’s yoga studio to taking up the tradition of Punk artists of picking up an instrument, figuring it out, finding a couple of other souls, and uncovering your way, to touring with the Wearing Hands along the east coast; Cancel is finding themselves and hopefully along the way a Will To Be.    

Song Description 

It takes no more than 4 seconds for this track to catch you off guard. Enter the bass rift, the 4 seconds of solo giving you the courtesy similar to a hand grenade, without fault you know there is a reveal surely to come soon. Insert the feeling of being in one of the many close-quarters bars around Wilmington, half of your drink being knocked about beer-soaked floors by the wave-like movements of a frenzied mass of bodies. The static coming off the amps no more than 5 feet from your face leaves your skin tingling even more than that last PBR. Cam comes in for his four count, Max seemingly takes an edge off with a quick synth line, leaving Dawson and Luke waiting patiently, although not for very long before attempting a face melt as the song kicks in. The fifth second was what struck me, the introduction of the synthesizer to Cancel’s sound is an enjoyable addition to the constant evolution to Cancel’s burgeoning discography. I’m not at liberty to say if the addition is a signaling of a new direction for Cancel or just an exploration to see what works, but the infiltration of Max’s synthesizer reminds one of the New Romantics Punk Movement of the late 70’s – early 80’s in England with bands like The Screamers, who on their 1977 EP, Screamers Demo, probed the extent to which a punk band could incorporate heavy electronic usage and distortion. Even in more modern times, a similar contrast appears with alternative artists such as Kero Kero Bonito who take their synth-heavy sound and apply more traditionally punk strings and create songs like ‘Outside’ off of their 2018 record Time ‘n’ Place. Regardless of any future electrical inclusion or roads taken, Cancel looks to surprise and keep listeners pleasantly unaware of what to expect. 

“Just to take up space, I sit and cry… Because I can’t find the will to be.” ‘Will to Be’ explores a shared generational and societal need for escape. Escape from monotonous routines in work life, from the impacts of a world devoid of purpose, leaving us unequipped to healthily handle interpersonal relationships, simply leaving us with overwhelming feelings of loss. “In my defense, things just don’t make sense,” and this track isn’t about finding the solutions, if anything it’s a cry for a healing community. A declaration for the desperate and the taking up of a fight to exist with some peace of mind.  

The essence of the Wilmington wave of Suck Rock seems to find itself somewhere in the long-held and expansive tradition of the punk community of rebelling against a status quo, be it set and defined music genres or societal binary boundaries that seek to box individuals and groups into unfamiliar and unwanted labels. A movement that seeks change, widely desired amongst our generation as we seek the freedom to find ourselves holistically. Suck rock, also known locally as burger rock, is just as it seems; easily customizable to fit an individual project and even applicable to an entire label. Each band on the Suck Rock label brings their unique take on their realities, their unique influences, and directions taken sonically and mold their own home within the blossoming genre of Suck Rock. There are plenty of aspects in each of our lives that leave us saying to ourselves and to our communities at large, “This sucks.” Cancel and all of our friends over at Suck Rock Records are here to remind us, and possibly even themselves, we can find a shared awakening in the Suck. “If everything is going to suck, we are going to take that suck, provide you with an anthem to rebel against and give it to you with all the grime possible. So come find us behind a $5 door fee and escape and embrace the suck together.”  

What’s Next 

Be sure to check out the newest single from Cancel, Will To Be, on any streaming services you frequent. Follow them at @cancel_241 on insta for any news on upcoming shows and be sure to tap into the rest of what they have going on. 

We’ll be back next week: Monday, June 12th, for our next Song of the Week. Stay tuned, Wilmington, till next time. 

Ben “Danger” Matthews | PCE

Chief Word Person