As far as debuts go, there a fewer better than this. Eight tracks from Derby's bright young things Plans & Apologies veers from delicate Belle & Sebastian-isms to pseudo metal riffage, often in the same song. They're masters of the quiet-loud with wobbly vocal harmonies, and an undenied charm. In other words - kitchen sink music.
The one song summing them up best is 'Save, Save, Save', combining everything above with too many tempo changes to count (well I'm sure I could count 'em, I just can't be arsed). 'Save, Save, Save' hits you like a good smack in the mouth, then drops the distorted guitar down to something far more gentle and studied. It cranks up the volume and pace and volume again towards the end then launches straight into 'You Fall', a song to make you go "awwww", which you will. 'Self Help' is a near-genius pop gem.
The general appeal of Plans & Apologies is the fact they sound like six blokes fighting to be heard amongst each other, pulling in different, unpredictable directions yet managing to keep it all together in the end. Far too good to remain in indie obscurity. Get on over to www.artistsagainstsuccess.com immediately and order a copy.
-
10[redacted]'s Score