Audrey Fenghuang
New member
Plain Sunset have released their fourth album to eager anticipation after their two year hiatus. The 10 track eponymous studio album, distributed by Universal, comes across as a dignified approach to mainstream radio, which ought to be warmly welcomed by local audiences. It is their most accessible recording to date, where rock and pop influences mellow their signature punk sound, and tastefully so.
Opener Johari Window is a delightful start, where the band trades speedy punk rhythms for more melodic rock, while vocalist Jon Chan retains his emotive yet well controlled voice. If this new sound is not a sign of maturity, then its contemplative, self-searching lyrics definitely are.
The rest of the album holds our attention, littered with hooks and refrains that are still catchy as ever, even bordering on hypnotic in tracks like Interference and Children. And towards the end, a gem of a song, apparently revolving around the Singapore River that everyone wants to hear at our upcoming National Day Parade. Ironically, its pop-ish, sing-a-long melody masks the ‘cold silence’ of this urban jungle that Jon sings about cunningly. It is subtle details like this that give the album dimension and character.
What works against it is the occasional filler, such as the brash, cookie cutter rock song, Eyeliner. Sweetest Nothings on the other hand, could be piercingly poignant if more concise. At almost six minutes, the album’s most mellow song seems to drag, and the pop punk closer Greatest Days that follows does not pick up the stray pieces of their multiple influences.
Overall, the album is a wonderfully admirable attempt at mainstream accessibility. The mixed bag approach is a necessary one, and we can foresee Plain Sunset continuing in the pop rock vein of the first four songs to find a new niche somewhere between Great Spy Experiment and Summers Over.
Opener Johari Window is a delightful start, where the band trades speedy punk rhythms for more melodic rock, while vocalist Jon Chan retains his emotive yet well controlled voice. If this new sound is not a sign of maturity, then its contemplative, self-searching lyrics definitely are.
The rest of the album holds our attention, littered with hooks and refrains that are still catchy as ever, even bordering on hypnotic in tracks like Interference and Children. And towards the end, a gem of a song, apparently revolving around the Singapore River that everyone wants to hear at our upcoming National Day Parade. Ironically, its pop-ish, sing-a-long melody masks the ‘cold silence’ of this urban jungle that Jon sings about cunningly. It is subtle details like this that give the album dimension and character.
What works against it is the occasional filler, such as the brash, cookie cutter rock song, Eyeliner. Sweetest Nothings on the other hand, could be piercingly poignant if more concise. At almost six minutes, the album’s most mellow song seems to drag, and the pop punk closer Greatest Days that follows does not pick up the stray pieces of their multiple influences.
Overall, the album is a wonderfully admirable attempt at mainstream accessibility. The mixed bag approach is a necessary one, and we can foresee Plain Sunset continuing in the pop rock vein of the first four songs to find a new niche somewhere between Great Spy Experiment and Summers Over.
