Released 6th July 2009 - Wind Up Records


If you can credit People In Planes with one thing, it's tenacity. On their third name change and second label, Beyond the Horizon is their second full-length album in their current incarnation. Even this is a re-release after little uptake on it's first attempt last year.

Hailing from South Wales, immediate comparisons with Lostprophets, Feeder and even Funeral For A Friend are unavoidable. It's certainly got the Americanised feel of Lostprophets' 2006 album Liberation Transmission, similar in its stylish production, littered with layered guitars and grafted samples.

Album opener Last Man Standing is a healthy mid-tempo stomp, reminiscent of Play-era Moby if he'd sampled Chris Cornell instead of raiding the music vaults, before the progamming gives way to energetic sprawling guitars. Previous single and second track Mayday (M'aidez) is shouty indie-rock by numbers, The Automatic  spring to mind(sorry, yet another South Wales band), as they also do on the title track.

Elsewhere, there's plenty that falls short. Too often are they found seeking to emulate their cited influences, Pearl Jam and Lostprophets, and incapable of matching either.

There are curveballs along the way. Better Than Life, for example was co-written by QOTSA cohort and former Eleven bassist Natasha Scheider who sadly died last year. It oozes balls and puts some of the other soulless offerings to shame. Likewise, Flesh And Blood displays their obvious songwriting acumen, straightening the spine with its unfashionable delicacy and atmospheric hooks. The final song, Evil with you, is frustratingly good too, with riotous riffs straight out of Soundgarden's Superunknown copybook.



However, music's moved on and so has the bandwagon. If they're still aiming to break into the Indie/Rock/Metal scene in the UK, they need to move their influences along a little. At times, Beyond The Horizon is generic and dated, offering little imagination. There's plenty that do it so much better.

(4/10)

Posted In Album Reviews, Jul 02 2009. Words - Tony