A Band with Many Sounds - 3/5
A four piece band from Darlington who present a mixture of rock, indie and elements of punk, ‘The Plains’ have developed an EP that draw ideas from these genres into one EP that are guaranteed to get you singing along to them after just the one listen.
“Tell the Tale” opens up with a funky guitar riff and a dance-like beat before it just goes out into a funk like song, rather against what I was expecting. Even so, this isn’t an anti-climax in any way, with Alasdair Graham providing a RHCP influence with the bass lines and Tom Chown’s almost dark lyrics over Jake Grey’s guitar. The rock ‘n’ roll element is then delivered in “Funny Expressions” with Jake and Tom’s guitar playing, and the tight rhythm section of Alasdair and Aaron Turner on drums with a guitar solo that sounds like something straight out of the 70’s- certainly one track to get people dancing on the live scene. The EP then takes a moment for a ballad-like break over the simply amazing “Flame in the Dark”, with sweet riffs flowing over Aaron’s laid back drums and Tom’s serene vocals. “Alive” is the longest track, lasting for five minutes that sounds like Noah and the Whale sounding lyrics with the anthemic chorus and very memorable riffs.
Overall, this is an EP that’s peppered with intriguing ideas and brilliant lyrics, but this is a band that has yet to find a definitive sound, with songs that have entirely different influences on the genre spectrum from RHCP to The Smiths. Other than that, this is definitely a solid EP to listen out for.
“Tell the Tale” opens up with a funky guitar riff and a dance-like beat before it just goes out into a funk like song, rather against what I was expecting. Even so, this isn’t an anti-climax in any way, with Alasdair Graham providing a RHCP influence with the bass lines and Tom Chown’s almost dark lyrics over Jake Grey’s guitar. The rock ‘n’ roll element is then delivered in “Funny Expressions” with Jake and Tom’s guitar playing, and the tight rhythm section of Alasdair and Aaron Turner on drums with a guitar solo that sounds like something straight out of the 70’s- certainly one track to get people dancing on the live scene. The EP then takes a moment for a ballad-like break over the simply amazing “Flame in the Dark”, with sweet riffs flowing over Aaron’s laid back drums and Tom’s serene vocals. “Alive” is the longest track, lasting for five minutes that sounds like Noah and the Whale sounding lyrics with the anthemic chorus and very memorable riffs.
Overall, this is an EP that’s peppered with intriguing ideas and brilliant lyrics, but this is a band that has yet to find a definitive sound, with songs that have entirely different influences on the genre spectrum from RHCP to The Smiths. Other than that, this is definitely a solid EP to listen out for.