Scott Guild Releases 'Boytoy' From 'Plastic: The Album'

Author and musician Scott Guild releases “Boytoy,” the second single from Plastic: The Album (out April 26).

The single celebrates the release today of his debut novel, Plastic (Penguin Random House), the sister project to the album. Together the album and book lead audiences into a surreal near-future world, peopled by plastic figurines and filled with the perils of climate crisis and a recent nuclear war.

The album and novel both tell the story of Erin James, a lonely plastic woman in her twenties, struggling to escape her past and build a new life with Jacob, the figurine she loves, but challenged by the chaos that surrounds her. The singer Stranger Cat (Sufjan Stevens, The Shins) stars as Erin on the album, embodying the fears and desires of the plastic protagonist.

The LP is a collaboration between Scott and the artist and producer Cindertalk (Son Lux, My Brightest Diamond), as well as the Grammy-winning producer Peter Katis (The National, Sharon Van Etten). Scott also drew on his background as the songwriter/guitarist of the Boston band New Collisions, which toured with the B-52s and opened for Blondie. Plastic: The Album allowed him to explore a different kind of songwriting, creating a concept record in the tradition of Joni Mitchell, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Kendrick Lamar, and Jazmine Sullivan, using the album format to tell a compelling story song by song.

Of “Boytoy, ” Guild says, "This is the second song on the record, and it finds Erin in a very dark place: isolated, grieving, and longing for connection. She orders a companion on 'Hot Date' (a futuristic phone app), but can't even get through dinner with the man who arrives--especially after she mentions her father's death of the dreaded Brad Pitt Disease. Erin hasn't met Jacob yet, and she feels like she might always remain alone. 'A Doll's House,' the other song we're releasing today, is the first song on the album, and serves as an introduction to Erin and her plastic world."

"Boytoy" also features co-writing and co-production from Levi Cecil of Gainsayer.

Scott Guild Book + Music Tour

2/13 - McNally Jackson Books, Seaport - New York, NY- Book and Single Release Party (music performance with Stranger Cat) * 

2/15 - Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore - Middletown, CT

2/16 - Brookline Booksmith - Brookline, MA

2/17 - Francie & Finch Bookstore - Lincoln, NE

2/18 - The Bookworm - Omaha, NE

2/19 - BookPeople - Austin, TX 

2/20 - Chevalier Books - Los Angeles, CA (music performance w/Cindertalk) *

2/21 - Green Apple Books - San Francisco, CA (music performance w/Cindertalk) *

2/23 - Powell's City Of Books- Portland, OR (music performance w/Cindertalk) *

3/4 - University of Nebraska - Lincoln, NE

3/14 - Marian University - Indianapolis, IN 

* = includes musical performance

Photo Credit: Anna Powell Denton

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