Plain White T’s
Stop
Fearless
Get out the Kleenex and pictures of your old girlfriend/boyfriend; these pretty emo boys are going to make you weep in longing and agony at times long past. These guys appear to be fresh out of high school, and they want us to know that they’ve “been there, done that” on the broken hearted relationship front. Thanks guys, I appreciate it.
Anyway, Stop is 46 minutes of mediocre emo pop, in the vein of Saves The Day and Jimmy Eat World, with the vocal phrasing of Greg Graffin from Bad Religion (I’m not kidding!). Interestingly enough, the boys of Plain White T’s also take cues from dreadfully boring pop acts, like Vertical Horizon, on rock ballads like “Radios In Heaven” (I’m vomiting on myself as I type this). I also find hints of other radio friendly “punk” bands, like Everclear and Sum 41, evidenced in the songs “Please Don’t Do This,” “What If,” and “Leavin’.” The songs are straight from the cookie cutter, with very little along the lines of originality, or even a hint that they put their own twist on the musical styles of others. I picture these young men, sitting around their practice space, all of them with a copy of “How to Get Your Pop-Punk Emo on the Radio” resting in their laps. They’re good students, but they’re also the type of students that can get A’s, but will never contribute anything new to their subject; in other words, they do well on multiple choice tests, but would fail miserably on the essay portion that requires intuitive thought.
In short, this is an album of forgettable yet cute little pop punk love ditties that will probably make you tap your foot and occasionally bob your head. After a listen or two, you’ll either grow bored or disinterested, and move onto something else, like I’m about to…
Fearless Records: http://www.fearlessrecords.com
