Halls of Love From Other Planes
By Phil Murphy
You need to be either brave or foolhardy to list Stone Temple Pilots as one of your main influences, at least on this side of the Atlantic. Now, I'm not going to be a bollox about it, primarily because while 'serious' critics were dismissing Weiland and co. as the manafactured dross that ruined what Grunge could have become, I was actually enjoying some of their great tunes. From Other Planes, based in Toronto Canada, will, no-doubt face a certain amount of the same snootiness, given that there's no huge leap of imagination on offer here. There are some great and memorable tunes though -so you pays yer money and takes yer pick.
What's interesting is how 'American' this band sound, given that Oz, lead singer is originally from Rome. There's precious little from Europe showing through in this carefully produced sound - perhaps not such a bad thing, after all Italian bands like Afterhours, Baustelle, and Negroamaro are hardly troubling the charts outside of their native country. It does though leave a certain worry that this band are just that littel bit too studied in their approach. From the band photos, through to the opening sound, they show that they know all about 'rock', and what works commercially. The end result, while enjoyable (and probably a winner for commercial rock radio), makes you wonder what they might do if they're given the chance to experiment instead of looking for the big hit.
Because, in truth, songs like Promises, and rain are just two-steps the wrong side of formulaic. If From Other Planes are to become a point of reference, instead of refering themselves continuosly to others like STP , they need to dig into the various personalities and ideas they undoubtedly have (a glimpse comes through in Starlight and no-one).
Because Oz, lead singer, undoubtedly has the voice for big thins. Guitarist Alex Hugo is a great player, and when the two click on the chorus of promises they manage to do that thing that all great bands do, make doubt creep into the heart of a critic ready to write them off.
Let's hope that the song is a big enough radio-hit for them to forget about being 'the next big thing' and concentrate on getting beneath the pose.
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