People In Planes
People In Planes (2005)
Brian Shultz
If Muse was a bit more indie rock-oriented and involved a greater dependence upon acoustic guitars and flimsy electronics, it might result in this: People In Planes' self-titled EP. While the thought of something this enjoyable appearing on a label notorious for a certain humungously popular, Christian radio rock band and a few signings that tried to emulate just that may be a bit incredulous, People In Planes is just complex enough while managing to feature some downright catchy songs that're pretty creative for the pool they'll eventually be thrown into, label association or not.
"If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)" should likely have you singing along to that very line. It's immensely repetitive, but gets the point across. Its immediate follower, "For Miles Aroud (Scratch to Void)," dabbles in some electronics and well-implemented piano usage that gives the band an eerie but still approachable character. I guess with a Muse comparison, you could also say the band will bring to mind, for many, Radiohead, and if there's any track it's particular it's this one. It's another hooky song all the same. "Moth" shakes with a subtle salsa-like vigor; in fact, the way the vocalist -- whose name is somewhat hard to track down -- suddenly bursts into the beginning of the chorus with "your feh-eh-ace!" is pretty Mars Volta-like. The down-tempo "Falling by the Wayside" ends things on a soothing note.
All in all, this is a really solid EP, and definitely something I didn't expect to like. Hopefully the band further their hints of experimentation here and lay off the chorus overdosage. If so, People In Planes could definitely shake off any turbulence on their next record, and it should make for a rather comfortable flight.