Planet 81

Planet 81 is the latest recording project of Phoenix, Arizona-based artist Justin Cohn. Its “throwback ’80s vibe and hook-abundant charm” (Obscure Sound) are inspired by blockbuster pop and rock ‘n’ roll artists of yesteryear, such as Daryl Hall & John Oates, The Cars, and Michael Jackson.

But the music isn’t facsimile, nor tribute: “It started as more of an experiment, something anthropological and focused on process. I was listening for how these really big artists were adopting new music technology in real-time—things like drum programming, MIDI, and digital effects—and seeing how it would affect me to rediscover the same stuff in the 21st century.” 

Escape​!​! to​…​Planet 81, the project’s debut LP, serves as a sampler of the results, as well as a belated swan song for the distinctly retro idea of the concept album. The 10 songs tell the tale of a human spacetime traveler with an unlikely destiny: to rule over a colony of extraterrestrial ants. Equal parts Wizard of Oz and Fantastic Planet, lyrical themes recur: money, power, leadership, and fulfilled desires.

Musically, 1980s waves of sophisti-pop and post-disco intermingle with strains of 2000s indie rock—traces of Phoenix and The Strokes along with Scritti Politti and Prince. It all adds up to something inescapably timeless: “music with a backbone one can still dance to” (Rosy Overdrive).