PlayRadioPlay! – Texas
Island Records (03/18/08)
Pop / Rock / Alternative / Electronic
PlayRadioPlay! falls into that genre of music that merges hook-filled, pop-ish, alternative music (say, mellower Saves the Day or maybe Straylight Run) with a decidedly electronic background of beats and melody, to create this mish-mash of music that is as much about atmosphere and experience as it is about content (think Idiot Pilot or Postal Service and the like).
The results are pretty enjoyable. Not completely outstanding, but enough to hook you in and entertain. The melodies are simple and catchy, the lyrics are just quirky enough that you’re captivated without rolling your eyes and the vocals are actually the high point of the entire package. Daniel Hunter, who alone initially made up the band—though he has put together a full band for touring, and I did notice, I believe, a female vox in a couple of spots on the album—oozes this faux innocence in his delivery, but is commanding enough to drive each song on the strength of his vocals, meshing with the music.
“Some Crap About the Furniture” is highly infectious with its up-tempo melody, while “Forgiveness, the Enviable Trait” is a tiny little slice of musical beauty, clocking in at just over two minutes but packing a lot of melody into the small package (the same can be said for the title track and closer). “Corner Office Bedroom” is driven by this great combination of piano, live drums and electronic beats, and “Madi Don’t Leave” somehow manages to capture an air of melancholy without falling into the stereotypical dirge of slow-tempo, emotionally charged cry-fests a lesser band would throw in there to appeal to the female demographic.
There’s a little something to love about every song, really. It’s the nuances that make Texas so much of a fun listen. The only mistake Hunter seems to have made is the over-reliance on the electronic-aspect to the music. The best part of “More of the Worst” is the fact it’s pretty much stripped-down, without the electronic beats, for the most part, so to have that aspect of the music be used sporadically instead of as a crutch that ties everything together may have been a better approach.
Still, I’d highly recommend this album to fans of the style. It may become a little tired to people who prefer more “pop” with their pop music, without the atmospheric effort.
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