Music

[Pop-Rock]

Plain White T’s

Big Bad World

Image

Seems like a lifetime’s passed since the Jason Schwartzman-bolstered Phantom Planet struck gold with starry-eyed O.C. theme song “California.” Now as the Schwartzman-less Planet and similarly aging emo-punk bands actively strive for mainstream success by the Vans-load, Plain White T’s sun-soaked “Meet Me in California” evokes the same new-beginning reinvention as its predecessor, while simultaneously nudging the Chicago quintet ever nearer to the forefront of the synergy-reliant phenomenon.

More

Plain White T's
Three and a half stars
Beyond the Weekly
Plain White T's
Plain White T's on Billboard.com

Best known for juggernaut prom standard “Hey There Delilah,” the Grammy nominees/Greek house band offer the sappy-sweet “1, 2, 3, 4” as a swooning, acoustic nod to that hit’s career-making success. But as a whole, the Every Second Counts follow-up adds a concentrated dose of power to its established pop, exploring the same classic-’60s terrain recently mined by Panic at the Disco, if not the same psychedelic scope.

The buoyant harmonies and self-empowerment themes of “Someday,” “Sunlight” and the title track complement the upbeat horns (“Serious Mistake”) and harmonica (“I Really Want You”); even the doo-wop dabbling of “That Girl” seems perfectly in place. World shies away from anything overtly heavy or deep, preferring to be viewed as a cohesive collection of youthful sing-alongs to a dancier, more mature effort. It’s all harmless fun, the kind of precisely calculated maneuver that makes living up to impossibly high expectations seem so effortless.

Share

Julie Seabaugh

Get more Julie Seabaugh

Previous Discussion:

Top of Story