Artist: The Plea
Title: The Dreamers Stadium
Genre: Rock
Release Date: 22nd February 2013
Label: Planet Function
CD Review
THE PLEA hail from the small village of Ballyliffin, in the north of Ireland, population about 500. But there is nothing pastoral or remote about either their sound, or ambition. Even the album title hints at where this band see themselves in the future, far away from the village pub and dreaming instead of lighting up the world’s arenas and stadiums.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The burning question here is, just how much does the world need another four, earnest white-boys playing verse/chorus, widescreen polished rock in 2013. The ability to enjoy this album rests purely on which side of that question you wish to sit. If there just aren’t enough SNOW PATROL and COLDPLAY albums out there, if EMBRACE and THE VERVE still float your boat, if late period U2 represent the pinnacle of musical innovation, and if a mid-90’s time warp has consumed us all, then this is definitely the album for you. Big of chorus, chiming and shimmering of guitar, it’s all topped off with heartfelt and angsty college-standard lyrics passionately belted out by a man who so wants to be Richard Ashcroft at times it’s amazing law suits haven’t been issued. Everything is here, wrapped up in a perfect and polished, but ultimately cold, production shell, and has been thrust over-confidently outwards, like the baby only a mother could really love. You just know everyone involved here expects great things from this record. Failure is not an option. But if, however, you find modern rock music has to represent far more than this, look away now.
The album opens as a statement of intent, with ‘Staggers Anthem’. And it feels like it’s going to be good. It wants to be that slow-burning rock song that builds on itself and has layers and levels, a memorable melody sung feistily, it wants to be at Glastonbury, or at least Reading, it wants everyone to sit up and notice. And it almost achieves this. It’s a fine song, and easy to imagine the line “like we did when we were young” being repeated by hordes of eager fans at shows. But as the cymbals crash and THE EDGE-style guitar climaxes, and the military drums end the song, there’s just a feeling that it wasn’t quite good enough. Somehow by throwing everything plus the kitchen sink into one five and a half minute epic, the result is strangely unsatisfying, as though the harder they tried, the more it slipped away. Worryingly, it’s the best song on here.
‘Feel it Ticking’ is pleasant enough, but there’s something almost laborious about the structuring, the “woah-woahs” coming at just the right moment, the ‘Yeah’ towards the end half hearted, it’s almost factory made and for that reason lacks the spark or originality it desperately needs. A piano and synth introduction does little to disguise the plod and drag of ‘Oh Ah Yay’, a song every bit as bad as its title suggests. It’s the kind of stomp drunken dads dance to at family weddings. The tempo increases for piano led song ‘Glass Waltz’, and it’s not too bad. The chorus even manages to sound like KEANE. But the echo-drenched vocals start to grate by now, as the default setting of Denny Doherty is clearly a studio set one. He does a good Bono yelp towards the end, and on the whole this is not a shabby effort. However, the other songs on this album begin to blur past at an alarming rate, with nothing standing out, nothing to hold on to.
And the Bono comparison is really not a good thing. Last track ‘Too Young To Die’, sounds so derivative it’s funny. A lazy ( or dreamy I imagine is the hope ) vocal drips lyrical clichés over a song so tired it’s a miracle it reaches an end still upright. It’s like the U2 frontman phoned in a chorus he wasn’t using. And so it all ends. Ultimately THE PLEA are overwhelmed and consumed by their influences and aspirations. Most of the songs here are simply dusty mirrors, poorly reflecting glimpses of the bands they are so clearly in awe of. As the ultimate rock cover-band, book them for a garden party this summer. But as a vital and relevant addition to the soundscapes of 2013, not a chance.
Tracklist
01. Staggers Anthem
02. The Odyssey
03. Praise Be
04. Feel It Ticking
05. I Am The Miracle
06. Windchime
07. Oh Ah Yay
08. Send It Out
09. Glass Waltz
10. Out Like A Light
11. Too Young To Die
Line-up
Denny Doherty – vocals, guitar, piano
Dermot Doherty – vocals, guitar
Paul Toland – bass
Gerry Strawbridge – drums
Website
http://thepleaofficial.com / https://www.facebook.com/thepleaofficial
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 4
Sound: 7
Total: 5.5 / 10
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