People in Planes – As Far As The Eye Can See / 2006 Wind-Up / 12 Tracks / http://www.peopleinplanes.com / http://www.winduprecords.com / Reviewed 10 February 2006

People in Planes starts out “As Far As The Eye Can See” in a retro type of vein that luckily disappears after the opening section of the first track on the disc “Barracuda”. What is left, then, is a band that is reminiscent of both Interpol and Queens of the Stone Age. There is a southern-rock sound that permeates “Barracuda” that really distinguishes them from the rest of the retro acts out on the market.

The band comes up with a number of tracks that continue in the vein “of “Barracuda”, while still putting forth the same type of effort throughout. In a sense, a track like “If You Talk Too Much” actually shows People in Planes’ harder side, as the progression of the guitar riff that leads up to the chorus seems to be built on an earlier Soundgarden riff. This similarity (or influence) really gives the band another dimension, something that is absolutely imperative for a band that has such a solid sound out of the gate. If not, the album will become stale soon after it starts; mixing it up gives the band another track or two of wiggle room. The multiple layers of guitar present during “Moth” bring forth different styles; the more sedate style continues the thread that is present throughout the disc, while there seems to be a noisier, more raucous riff present in this track that distinguishes it from the rest of the disc.

There is actually a third guitar on the track, which was created with a very harmonic set of vocals that further mixes things up. The one thing that individuals can bank on is that People in Planes have no end to the grab-bag of sounds that they can pull out at any given time on this album. The female set of vocals that comes into prevalence (in an in-track context) during “Rush” is another of these instrumental types of vocals, and really gives the band some capital in regards to pure musical talent. People in Planes come up with an interesting album in “As Far As The Eye Can See”; one wants to say that it is just the same song rehashed 11 times, but there are much too many things happening here to claim that. Look for People in Planes to hit it big in the next few months, as this album comes out at the end of March.

Top Tracks: Barracuda, Rush

Rating: 5.8/10

[JMcQ]