REVIEW: Planes Mistaken For Stars, Planes Mistaken For Stars /
Starmarket, Calendar (Deep Elm)
- Andrew Duncan
Emo music could not be more vital than it is today. In a global society that can be so isolated, emo music breaks free of any boundaries that tend to hold back the musician. To define emo simply as a prefix for emotion or emotional, yet its sense of existence is more complicated than that. Emo music or emo-core can offer a sense of therapy, beauty and intensity all in the same breath.
Planes Mistaken For Stars proves the above analysis to be correct, but not in safe flight patterns. If you are hoping to easily take your emotions from point A to point B without turbulence, think again, as this album is filled with harsh phrasing and teeth-gritting feelings. First captured on Deep Elm's The Moment Of Truth: The Emo Diaries Chapter III, the Peoria, Illinois band (who recently moved to Denver, Colorado) takes an abstract, post-hardcore approach to their self-titled EP.
Less than a half-an-hour in length, the time is not a factor when it comes to eight songs of intense bitterness. Vocalist/guitarist Gared O'Donnel is angry, not only in his voice, but with his words as well. On the song "When The Arrow Went Out," O'Donnell screams out, "And I don't know if it was the weight of your words or the way you said my name that sent me packing." This is a demonstrative example to get a feel for the tone of the release.
Listen closely and it's the precision and musicianship that really makes this release shine. There is a nice array of feedback, disdainful guitar riffs and classical guitar influences that seems most impressive.
Starmarket is a different story in a different context. With Calendar, the band focuses on the song as a whole. Instead of creating a gamut of emotional range within one song, the Swedish group uses simple forward-driving chord structures and melodic power pop to get their point across. It's not to say that the band not powerful. Their dynamics exist from one song to the next. "Losing Track" is a powerful example of what makes this band great - Frederik Brandstrom's excellent vocal range and simplistic, yet creative music. "You Can't Come" is the slow song when it's time to dance with the girl - awkward but nevertheless a release of feeling. Wait a minute and it's again time to rock with great, catchy tunes like "Wither," "Choker" and "Hate You Still." These are the songs that you will catch yourself humming to without the CD spinning. This is a band that has increased in popularity, and there is no doubt that the excellence of Calendar will take Starmarket even further.
