Surprisingly Entertaining Stuff

To be honest, I've obviously been living in a bubble world, because I've never seen The O.C. I was introduced to this lovely band by a random playing of California on the radio, and even had to sit there and endure Usher before finding out who the track was by. So, you can imagine my pleasure, upon hearing the rest of the album, that it all pretty much maintains the same high standard. The first half of the album is particularly strong, California and Lonely Day for example, and only Nobody's Fault leaves me cold (it just feels a bit too cheesy, even for this uplifting, smiley album).



If anything, they remind me of a UK band called Clearlake; his vocal style is nigh-on identical - so if you like this, I seriously suggest you give them a try too (the album is called Cedars). Thankfully I read the Semisonic comparison after hearing it, otherwise I'd have never bothered.

Mostly Harmless

Don't let the 3 stars mislead you, theres some solid pop/rock music on here. 'California' never really did anything for me, its more the chord progressions on other tracks like 'In Our Darkest Hour', or the melody for 'Lonely Day' set against its gloomy lyrics. The production has a good "full" sound as well..
Also, I "accidently" saw them play live, they'd opened for Elvis Costello for some dates on his '02 tour. Didn't really leave much of an impression on me, but then again I was there to see EC and to me, any opening band was just getting in the way of my seeing EC play ;)....
Recommended if you like the sound of All American Rejects, American Hi-Fi, Weezer, etc.

Oft-Invited Guest

...The Guest, in my book, is the best and most palatable of all these alternative-pop-rock acts that came out last year. ... We tried to see them later that fall at the Black Cat only to walk up to the line and realize that the show had sold out ahead of time. Hopefully the same won't happen with their upcoming show here in the DC area. (Best of luck in finding the double-disc version of The Guest with the unreleased title track, and live cuts of "Do The Panic" & "California." Even more luck in also finding the 5-song live promo that was released before the actual cd too. ..."California" was the best thing about the ads for Fox's OC. Lead singer Alexander Greenwald even inflects a little country twang on "Always On My Mind" and "Nobody's Fault." I don't go a week without finding myself singing "Lonely Day" at least twice to myself...even without having listened to the cd in several months. There was a time too, in my more tortured moments, where "One Ray Of Sunlight" was my favorite of the tracks on here with the chorus of, "Try all you want to / I'm gonna try too / If I get one ray of sunlight to hold in my hand / Maybe we can be happy again." "Anthem" could be a postmodern protest song if played in the local football stadium's PA. "In Our Darkest Hour" is probably my least favorite of the tracks on The Guest; it's a little grungier, a little more garage than most of the songs and is mildly redeemed by the chorus' hook. "Turn Smile Shift Repeat" is probably their most atmospheric work to date and has drawn comparisons to dare I say it...Radiohead? The sax in the bridge makes the track though adding another layer uncommonly heard of in most of today's pop fare. "Hey Now Girl" works because it's under three minutes, same with "Nobody's Fault." The two of these songs together makes this ...boy jump up & down like he's with a bunch of kids at their first rock show. I'm a little older so I can't jump up & down for more than six minutes at a time. I think Sheryl Crow might've sampled the opening drums on "Soak Up The Sun" from the ending drums of "All Over Again." "Wishing Well" builds up from a repetitive piano note to an epic masterpiece that could rival, dare I say it...Radiohead?...even including some Bachrachian trumpets. And you all know what a sucker I am for trumpets and horns in pop music. Album closer, "Something Is Wrong," stands-out as the warmest song on The Guest keeping it acoustic letting the bass guitar reverberate and harkens back to all those old acoustic acts from the Sixties.

I think the future can hold even greater things for Phantom Planet, if the departure of drummer & Rushmore-star Jason Schwartzman doesnt affect the band too much. I would like to hear more Beach Boy style harmonies from them, but then again, I think everyone should be like the Beach Boys. I think it'll have to be their next album though to prove to the bulk of the world, yours truly excluded, that they're more than their famous last names...and that pretty boys really can pop-rock.