Once you hear the new test plan track, you won’t forget it.
On ‘It’s Not Enough’, one of test plan’s oldest songs, the three-piece veer deeper into the abyss of their sonic landscape, delivering a track that’s as hauntingly danceable as it is intensely unsettling. The song opens with dark, driving guitars that carve out a menacing groove, paired with Latin-inspired drum rhythms that pulse with a relentless, almost predatory energy. The bass line, steeped in melancholy, provides the perfect counterpoint, grounding the track in a sense of looming dread.
Bassist Rory Dickinson takes the vocal reins for the first time, offering a subdued performance that simmers with quiet desperation before exploding into a cathartic crescendo. His lyrics, drenched in themes of regret and self-reflection, echo the cyclical patterns of anxiety and self-defeat that many of us know all too well. The repetitive mantra woven throughout the song feels like a relentless internal monologue that refuses to be silenced.
But it’s the corresponding music video that truly captures the track’s disturbing essence. Directed by drummer Max Mason, the video plunges us into a surreal, horror-tinged narrative where an unquenchable thirst consumes a masked protagonist. The imagery of self-inflicted waterboarding- an attempt to quench an insatiable need – perfectly mirrors the song’s exploration of desperation and the disquiet that lurks beneath the surface. The video’s hypnotic darkness is almost too much to bear, yet impossible to look away from.
As test plan continue to carve out their place within the London underground, ‘It’s Not Enough’ solidifies their reputation as a band unafraid to push the boundaries of dance-punk and noise rock. If you’re anything like me, their sound will occupy a space in your head once you’ve heard it—unsettling, exhilarating, and utterly unforgettable.
Photo by Euan McGinty
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