People In Planes - 'Beyond The Horizon' (Wind Up) Released 06/07/09

There was a time when rock music was cool, so cool, it was beyond cool. A statement of rebellious intent the devils music was awash with unthinkable possibilities and the perfect end to a mantra that started with the words sex and drugs. But rock music, no longer a bad boy exclusive, has long since changed, mutated and crossed over to the right side of the tracks to reside in MP3 bliss alongside a proliferation of other pop music success stories.

For a group you’ve probably never heard of outside of Cardiff, People In Planes are one such band to take advantage of rocks now well established migratory route, the 4 ½ minute averaging 12 tracks of their second album scream self-belief and as a result deserve respect. With extremely high aspirations enough to match production values ‘Beyond The Horizon’ is a well polished affair instantly illustrated by opening tracks and album forerunners ‘Last Man Standing’ and ‘Mayday (M’aidez)’. Like their predecessors, ‘Tonight The Sun Will Rise’ and ‘Vampire’ hint at anthemic ambition; that the overall sound, style and substance is more stateside than Cymraeg is mildly disappointing but nationalistic pride is placated by full bodied rampaging honesty and premeditated urgency even if it does stay on the safer side of edgy.

In an mild attempt to distinguish themselves, the Welsh five-piece add strings, piano and acoustic guitar to their riff aplenty arsenal and while by no means a eureka moment, its an effective move that breeds shifting subtleties and provides vocally emotive breathing space. Yet whether or not ‘Pretty Buildings’, ‘Better Than Life’, ‘Beyond The Horizon’ and ‘Know By Now’ are indicative of well crafted yet lazy musicianship or an accurate reflection of adolescent empathy is best left unanswered.

What is certain is that although Beyond The Horizon is a well calculated and commendably sincere effort that targets a generic mould, it’s also a safe bet that gets bogged down in latent limitation and short-sighted predictability in an overcrowded and unforgiving gene pool of comparable acts.