Making music that is both creatively progressive and accessible to a mainstream audience is tricky. And while As Far As the Eye Can See by the Welsh band People in Planes is largely hit and miss, there are points when they manage to pull it off.
As Far As the Eye Can See is primarily a rock and roll album, but the influences on the band's sound range from blues and techno to Bowie and Radiohead. The band kicks off the album strongly with "Barracuda," a bluesy rocker that showcases the vocals of singer Gareth Jones. Jones' voice isn't incredibly spectacular, or even all that unique, but it's proficient enough to carry the album despite a lack of the range that Jones seems to want, but can't quite pull off.
People in Planes is at their best during the first third of the album, which in addition to "Barracuda," contains "If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)." The track has a wildly frantic beat that builds to heavy, thrashing chorus reminiscent of the hard rock/pop sound of fellow U.K. rockers Travis and Muse. The drama of the song is achieved through the rich layering of heavy guitar and drums with atmospheric, spacey effects.
People in Planes' sound works best when Jones sings within his limited range, which he does for "Barracuda" and "If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)." This is partially what makes them As Far As the Eye Can See's best tracks. When Jones reaches for a falsetto that he can't hit, as he does in "Token Trapped Woman," it's almost impossible to take the tracks seriously. Another problem is that Jones seems incapable of infusing any sort of passion or artistry into what he's singing. As a result, many tracks sound similar and come off as flat, uninteresting and forgettable.
There are high points on the last two-thirds of the album, most notably "Fire" which has an epic, dreamy, big band in space sound. Unfortunately, there are also stinkers like "Penny," a cheap Radiohead rip off, and "Black Widow," a meandering mess of crunchy guitar and drums, which manages to be both redundant and unfocused at the same time.
Another problem with the end of the album is that the final tracks are pointlessly and self-indulgently long. Songs like "Narcoleptic" and "Penny" could be decent if they had been trimmed down to three or four minutes; at seven, they're simply repetitive and boring guitar/electronica mush.
There are clearly points where As Far as the Eye Can See falters. These missteps are mostly the result of the band trying to take their sound in too many different directions. It's obvious that the five members of People in Planes want to incorporate the styles of their influences, but what they need to focus on is cultivating and streamlining their own sound rather than trying to pay homage to others. There are points on the album when this happens ("Barracuda," "Moth"), and a relatively new band having even a few killer tracks is a fairly impressive achievement. If anything, As Far As the Eye Can See is a promise of bigger and better things to come from People in Planes.
(2 out of 5)
