Artist: PlayRadioPlay!
Album: Texas
Label: Island Records
Release Date: March 18, 2008
Review by: Eric Pettersson

Tracklist:
1. Loco Commotion
2. I’m a Pirate, You’re a Princess
3. Some Crap about the Furniture
4. Madi Don’t Leave
5. Without Gravity
6. See You Soon
7. I’m Afraid There’s a Hole in My Brain
8. More of the Worst
9. My Attendance Is Bad, but My Intentions Are Good
10. Corner Office Bedroom
11. Forgiveness, the Enviable Trait
12. Texas

Last time I checked, PlayRadioPlay! was one name on a list of unsigned sensations on PureVolume. Now all of a sudden the band’s major label debut appears in my mailbox. Cool. Hailing from Aledo, Texas, this one man band is the brainchild of 18-year-old Daniel Hunter, whose brand of electronic-based emo/indie rock is apparently sweeping the scene by storm. As for Texas, this album purchase will provide fans with excellent production and a balanced dose of upbeat dance songs and mellowed out introspective tracks.

Whether you call it synth-pop, emotronica, or electro-indie, it’s hard to play something in this genre without getting the obvious comparison to The Postal Service. However, this is totally unfair and based on the fact that The Postal Service are really the only band to reach most people’s radars with hipster music that is primarily electronic. The other day I saw footage from an early press conference with The Beatles where they were compared to Elvis Presley, just because he was one of the few other chick-magnet rock-and-rollers to reach most peoples’ ears at that time. Absurd by our standards, now that we can tell the difference between the two so readily. This will hopefully be the future for bands like PlayRadioPlay!, because this record really has very little in common with Give Up. Right away on the first track, “Loco Commotion,” we hear a lot of heavy guitars mixed in between the quick, syncopated beats, creating a powerful track that sounds nothing like a Ben Gibbard project. Really, the comparison that comes to my mind the most during a listen to this record is The Rocket Summer, just because it’s a young one man band, and the lyrics are full of feeling and a youthful joy (not to mention they’re both from Texas). I suppose I could also reference HelloGoodbye, but this record sounds more high-tech and musically mature than them. Fast disco beats permeate most of the songs, along with Daniel’s emotional but stable voice, making Texas the obvious soundtrack to every scenster’s coming spring and summer. More guitars find their way onto “I’m Afraid There’s a Hole in My Brain,” while a slower beat (with finger snaps) and softer vocals on “My Attendance Is Bad, but My Intentions Are Good” bring PlayRadioPlay! to an admittedly closer comparison to The Postal Service.

A year or two ago, a friend of mine in high school asked me where music was going. I told her in the next few years, people would start listening to more electronic influenced music. It was going to be like the emo and indie movements of that day, but with more programming and a higher focus on production, leaving behind the lo-fi guitars and rough-around-the-edges vocals. Also, people would cut their hair short and start wearing life vests. Well, it turns out I was wrong about the fashion changes, but my predictions in music seem to be coming true with PlayRadioPlay!, as this band is certain to continue its domination of the hipster scene. The only possible contingency is that the pop appeal will become too much of a focus and indie elitists will mistakenly reject Texas because “It’s just fun stuff for 12-year-old girls,” but if they get over themselves (yeah right!) and dig in a little deeper, they’ll realize there’s some serious stuff here with great musicianship to back it up.

8/10

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