“First of all, The Phantom Six get a gazillion points for such a cool name, and another half-a-gazillion for the records title. From there, you get a modern blast of garage rock roots. I’m hearin’ The Troggs Neanderthalic punk influences on “Plastic Rain,” with lines like, “All I want is some sunshine in my brain/Sun comes out and it looks like plastic rain…” THEN, it’s like a musical standoff between The Who, The Kinks, (British Invasion era), and The Phantom Six on “Losing Control” (the “I Can’t Explain” vibe is head-shakin’ cool), and “Into My Dreams” (“You Really Got Me” turned inside out, upside down-nasty cool), and The Phantom Six’s vibe, mojo, and that special…”SOMETHING!”
I know I make a lot of comparisons when I write reviews but it’s always with an eye toward originality. The roots and branches of rock ‘n’ roll are going stronger and fruitful, and bands like The Phantom Six are the gardeners. -Phil Rainone
— Jersey Beat, August 2012
“…Opening with “Corianna” it kicks down the doors with a sonic assault similar to The Foo Fighters and Superdrag. The followup “Inspiration” mines both British Invasion garage with Mod touches, and “About Love” keeps those tasty riffs in the chorus. The title track has everything you need, with vocal harmonies, hand claps and a fun hook that keeps your head bobbing.
Fans of The Raspberries and The Flaming Groovies will enjoy “Scenes Like This” even if Poole’s vocal gets overshadowed at times by the great guitar work. Lots of impressive reverb and energy throughout the album make it an easy recommendation. More highlights include the Kinksian “Into My Dreams,” and “Emily Einstein.” Enjoy!
— Powerpopaholic, March 27, 2012
“…Their sound is one driven by crunchy rock guitars and melodic vocals laden with harmonies and overtones which brings to mind the sounds of rock groups of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
The first song the album, “Corianna,” summarizes this sound well. This track is driven by a powerful rhythm in the verses and leads into a melodic, harmonious chorus sure to get stuck in the listener’s head.
The solo showcases the use of fuzz and octave effects to create a trippy, sonic experience that then leads into harmonized chants of “Ahh,” which close out the track.
This is the epitome of The Phantom Six.
— The Daily Athaneaum, Friday Nov 4, 2011
“…a West Virginia garage rock band led by singer-guitarist Mark Poole, and along with his bandmates (who include AbPow favorite Clint Sutton) has crafted a fun, energetic collection of late 60s-styled rock nuggets. “Corianna”, full of reverb and stop-start guitars, and “ahhhhh” harmonies sets the tone, and “Inspiration” doesn’t suffer from a lack of it. The piledriving “About Love” and the title track recall Dinosaur Jr., while “Lose Control” comes across as Foo Fighters with more gravitas. With one kick-ass rocker after another (even the jangly “Shades of Sunday”), Plastic Rain will appeal to fans of melodic rock…”
— Absolute PowerPop, Nov 3, 2011
“…Oh, the record. Make no mistake dear friends, okay, dear readers, Plastic Rain is a great record. Recorded at Poole’s Zone 8 Studios, with a live and loud final feel, on favorite tracks like “Inspiration,” the hard rockin’ “About Love” and 70’s rock sounding “Losing Control,” to the more jangly Americana of “Shades of Sunday” and the somber “Big Airplane,” (killer solo) with lyrics mainly dealing with some combination of chicks, love and small towns (“everyone wants to fall in love, if only for one day,” Poole sings on “Inspiration”) and with a plug-in-and-go attitude, people not familiar with Moon will be kicking themselves now.
With super-tight vocal harmonies, backing vocals, enough requisite “na-na-na’s” the songs, describe them how you will, who they remind you of, what you call them, really just might remind you how much you can love a rock band.
While the songs are simply structured sing-along verse-chorus-verse types for the most part, there’s enough instrumentation, enough of an ambitious sonic layering with reverse guitar parts and organ thrown in with the solos and the crashing cymbals, to make the songs great. Everything about a kick ass rock band is on display on Plastic Rain…
— WVRockscene, Oct 31, 2011
The Phantom Six 