Whenever The Plain White T’s come up in conversation, it is seemingly impossible to get in more than a few words before their magnum opus “Hey There Delilah” is mentioned.
One of the defining Indie-Pop songs of the mid-2000s, this rocketed the band to the top of the charts. This has had its drawbacks, however, as the band were basically relegated to the category of one-hit wonders, which any diehard fan can tell you, is far from true.
Now, four years on from their last album, the band are back with their self-titled release, Plain White T’s (Fearless Records) to put earworms into your head and get ready for those sunny spring days, even if the time of year doesn’t necessarily agree with that.
The band reintroduces themselves with the opening track “Young Tonight” featuring that reminiscent sound of the light melody on guitar, before the band join together, creating a nostalgic mood.
The light, carefree rhythm of the drum pad and guitar, alongside Tom Higgenson’s vocals, just immediately puts you back to being a teenager. The simplicity of the lyrics of earnestly being in love is hard to come across these days, and The Plain White T’s offering this is a palate cleanser from all the sad songs that are so prevalent in popular music today.
“Young Tonight” really encapsulates the mood of going out with a partner for the night, forgetting troubles at the door and reliving youth.
“Girl From Pasadena” is not reinventing the wheel, or coming up with wild new concepts. It’s a pure, honest love song. The innocence of the song really shows the band to be what the world fell in love with back in 2005.
Catchy hooks and an endearing nature to the track means you can’t help but fall in love with the song. It may be slightly cheesy, but all of that only works in the band’s favour, bringing you back to the times of artists like Jason Mraz.
The majority of the album fits into the same boxes as mentioned earlier. In “Red Flags,” however, the heartbreak song of the album, it shows the other side to the band. It’s a sad story, but in 2023 a story that lots of people can relate to strongly. This’ll be the song that the band slows down to play at that pivotal moment in their tours to a flood of phone lights, and in any just world, for every word of that chorus to be sung right back at them.
Plain White T’s is not going to break the mold of the Pop-Rock genre, but it will give a lot of people honest, relatable lyrics that will clearly make an impact. If anything, this album acts as a reintroduction to the band and gives the listeners an insight into who they are as people.
And more than anything, they’re not a one-hit wonder.
Buy the album here:
https://plainwhitets.bandcamp.com/album/plain-white-ts
7 / 10
CHARLIE HILL