Susan Frances
09/08/08, 09:40 AM
People in Planes – Beyond The Horizon
Record Label: Wind-up Records
Release Date: September 9, 2008
People in Planes’ 2006 debut album, As Far As The Eye Can See finally has a new sibling. It’s PIP’s latest release, Beyond The Horizon which is an impressive high winded rock menagerie. The parasailing slides of keyboardist Ian Russell and the pelting chords, which amass into heavy flusters from guitarist Peter Roberts, create gorgeous torrents as the pummeling rhythms of bassist Kris Blight and drummer John Maloney nail into the whipping cyclones. The lead vocals of Gareth Jones fit the sonic peals as assuredly as Scott Stampf had fit Creed, with natural embers lighting Jones’ deep tones, and embracing melodic rips that move the tracks with a finessed handling. Rendering the services of several producers including Our Lady Peace’s frontman Raine Maida, Eleven (Queens Of The Stone Age), Matt Squire (Panic At The Disco), and Dan Austin (Doves, Massive Attack), PIP’s new CD, Beyond The Horizon takes a small town band from Cardiff, Wales in the UK to the broader region of the world map. The album has the potential of making People in Planes a household name, and taking the band beyond their local horizons and actually making them synonymous with the greater region of modern rock.
People in Planes are strong in generating flash floods through the chorus parts like in “Get on the Flaw” and “Pretty Buildings.” The haunting strings which open “Get on the Flaw” segue into whirlwind clumps that tighten and release as the staggering beats follow straight away and Jones’ vocals form wide arches through the track. Interludes of keyboard silhouettes move in the undertow of “Pretty Buildings” while shepherd by Jones’ fist-clenching vocals riding back to back alongside the periodic bursts. His fiery vocals in “Better than Life” and intense guitar cuts are Saving Abel-crunchy, and the crushing shreds of “Vampire” are clipped by psychedelics slant in the keyboards, both undercut by the deep rhythmic swells. The band’s in-the-ring-rock are equalized by bulges of acoustic rock in “Flesh And Blood,” and roped in synth-vibrating swirls in “Last Man Standing.” The soaring synth effects of “Mayday (M’aidez)” are slit by craggy-ridged guitar shreds as the lyrics speak about self-deprecation, “Help me, help me / You know me better than I know myself / M’aidez, m’aidez / Saves me cos I’m a danger to myself / You know me better than I know myself / Getting nothing done / I’m getting nothing done / Failing all my friends / I’m failing everyone.”
People in Planes are stronger than ever in their latest disc, Beyond The Horizon. The album was not only made to rev-up modern rock fans, but to last the length of those fans lives and beyond. It’s an exciting album that should have a place in the world music market. If you don’t know this band’s music now, you probably will want to. Their album does not disappoint.
Queens Of The Stone Age, Saving Abel, Creed, Alter Bridge
www.myspace.com/peopleinplanes (http://www.myspace.com/peopleinplanes)
Record Label: Wind-up Records
Release Date: September 9, 2008
People in Planes’ 2006 debut album, As Far As The Eye Can See finally has a new sibling. It’s PIP’s latest release, Beyond The Horizon which is an impressive high winded rock menagerie. The parasailing slides of keyboardist Ian Russell and the pelting chords, which amass into heavy flusters from guitarist Peter Roberts, create gorgeous torrents as the pummeling rhythms of bassist Kris Blight and drummer John Maloney nail into the whipping cyclones. The lead vocals of Gareth Jones fit the sonic peals as assuredly as Scott Stampf had fit Creed, with natural embers lighting Jones’ deep tones, and embracing melodic rips that move the tracks with a finessed handling. Rendering the services of several producers including Our Lady Peace’s frontman Raine Maida, Eleven (Queens Of The Stone Age), Matt Squire (Panic At The Disco), and Dan Austin (Doves, Massive Attack), PIP’s new CD, Beyond The Horizon takes a small town band from Cardiff, Wales in the UK to the broader region of the world map. The album has the potential of making People in Planes a household name, and taking the band beyond their local horizons and actually making them synonymous with the greater region of modern rock.
People in Planes are strong in generating flash floods through the chorus parts like in “Get on the Flaw” and “Pretty Buildings.” The haunting strings which open “Get on the Flaw” segue into whirlwind clumps that tighten and release as the staggering beats follow straight away and Jones’ vocals form wide arches through the track. Interludes of keyboard silhouettes move in the undertow of “Pretty Buildings” while shepherd by Jones’ fist-clenching vocals riding back to back alongside the periodic bursts. His fiery vocals in “Better than Life” and intense guitar cuts are Saving Abel-crunchy, and the crushing shreds of “Vampire” are clipped by psychedelics slant in the keyboards, both undercut by the deep rhythmic swells. The band’s in-the-ring-rock are equalized by bulges of acoustic rock in “Flesh And Blood,” and roped in synth-vibrating swirls in “Last Man Standing.” The soaring synth effects of “Mayday (M’aidez)” are slit by craggy-ridged guitar shreds as the lyrics speak about self-deprecation, “Help me, help me / You know me better than I know myself / M’aidez, m’aidez / Saves me cos I’m a danger to myself / You know me better than I know myself / Getting nothing done / I’m getting nothing done / Failing all my friends / I’m failing everyone.”
People in Planes are stronger than ever in their latest disc, Beyond The Horizon. The album was not only made to rev-up modern rock fans, but to last the length of those fans lives and beyond. It’s an exciting album that should have a place in the world music market. If you don’t know this band’s music now, you probably will want to. Their album does not disappoint.
Queens Of The Stone Age, Saving Abel, Creed, Alter Bridge
www.myspace.com/peopleinplanes (http://www.myspace.com/peopleinplanes)