Plum - "Bodies in Motion"

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Photo by Shannon Marks

Chicago's Plum are a post-punk band that are more along the lines of The B-52's than the darker, noisier side of the genre. Their latest single, "Bodies in Motion," is a quirky and fun song that's a little too oddball to be any form of pop music. It demands that the listener dance, and you're going to want to comply. The song is still noisy, but it's pleasant and fun noisy instead of abrasive and aggressive noisy. It feels like classic songs from bands like Talking Heads and Gang of Four without sounding like it's four decades old. Plum take that classic sound and update it for 2026. "Bodies in Motion" keeps getting more and more fun with every listen.

Vocalist/guitarist Jeff Kelly says of his band's latest single:

"The lyrics stem from a dream I had; I woke up in the middle of the night and immediately expanded it into a short story. The idea is that a frequency starts being broadcast from every electronic device all over the world that causes people to dance uncontrollably. No one knows who started it, but it's clear that it was more powerful than intended and it took over the whole world and plunged it into a dance-apocalypse. The chorus is written as three independent melodies that overlap and intertwine—my voice, heather's voice, and my guitar line all combine into a chaotic contrapuntal texture."

You can listen to "Bodies in Motion" below. The album Bodies in Motion is due out August 21, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp. For more on Plum, check out the band on Instagram.

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