This Canadian alt-rock trio have some interesting ideas, but are prone to repetition.
Rating: 55/100
I’m very glad to say that Stuck on Planet Earth are not an annoying band. This may seem like an odd way to start a review, but so many rock bands sound like they’re caught up in their own manufactured mythologies that all you get left with is an irritating feeling of smugness. There’s an easy, earnest quality to Stuck on Planet Earth, and none of what they’re doing ever sounds forced, likely a result of years of workshopping these songs on the road.
Beautiful Nowhere starts with I Want it Now, which sadly isn’t a cover of Veruca Salt’s song from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, although I would LOVE to hear a rock cover of that. ‘I Want it Now’ is melodic, albeit fairly generic guitar/bass/drums rock and very much lets you know what you’re in for during the rest of the album. Every now and then, there’s a poppy chorus, such as in Rising, or Ghosts on the Radio, which actually has a stupidly catchy chorus – it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a concert crowd having an incredibly enjoyable singalong to it.
But what kind of lyrics are these fans going to be singing? Well, nothing of particular interest. By and large, the lyrics on Beautiful Nowhere aren’t anywhere near approaching offensively bad, but the lyrical content isn’t universal enough to be insightful, or specific enough to be interesting. Take Higher Than the Drugs, for example; “Reasons yeah I’ve had a few, and all too many messed up nights, I’d rely on you”. That’s about as exciting as it gets, and even then it’s a few trite phrases, even if they do flow well. The music video is cool though.
That’s not to say that the songs aren’t delivered with sincerity, though. Adam Bianchi, Al Capo (very cool name) and Andrew Testa truly believe in what they’re doing, and the vocals are never whiny or pathetic. The trouble is, there’s not a lot to make them stand out from a lot of other bands out there. Stuck on Planet Earth definitely know what they’re about, but their sound is quite formulaic after a while, as there’s little difference in timbre from song to song. I guess you’d call their style ‘alt-rock’, but bands who sound like this are becoming increasingly common, so the ‘alt’ applies less and less. This is not a criticism of them, just an observation on the ever-changing nature of one of popular music’s oldest genres.
Stuck on Planet Earth have a good grasp on dynamics, with a decent range within each song, but the quieter bridges become a bit predictable after a while, especially once you get to Just to Have You. However, it’s refreshing to listen to an album which isn’t just 35 minutes of over-compressed mulch, and more entirely acoustic songs would be welcome, because they’re clearly talented enough to pull it off.
They’re also a fair sight more engaging than Canadian compatriots The Glorious Sons, partly because they’ve succeeded in harnessing a specific feel – dark, but not gloomy, as if the Beautiful Nowhere was meant for introspective night-time listening. This isn’t the strongest debut I’ve heard this year, but I look forward to hearing how they branch out.
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