Heave Media

Things are Bigger in Texas

PlayRadioPlay! releases a full-length debut.

PlayRadioPlay!

Texas

Released on Nov 30, -0001

A true product of Myspace, PlayRadioPlay! is a one-man electro-pop act from Texas. In 2005, Dan Hunter began to make electronic music and was soon signed by Island Records. His first release, The Frequency EP was a self-recorded piece of awesome. The six tracks featured a great mix of electronics and actual instruments on top of being lyrically outstanding. Coming from an 18 year old kid, the lyrics of the EP had surprising depth as do those on his debut full-length.

Texas is a more sophisticated album than the EP that preceded it. Daniel Hunter has clearly evolved as a musician and as a person, as it's evident through not just the lyrics, but the musical structure of the album. Lyrically, he explores a variety of themes. From the changes in his life in going from an average high school kid to a signed musician with a pretty big following, to his former drug addiction and his relationship with his girlfriend. Many will argue that songs about relationships are pretty standard amongst musicians his age, I mean just look at almost every song Pete Wentz wrote in the early days of Fall Out Boy, but PlayRadioPlay!'s songs aren't the standard, "My girlfriend broke up with me and now I'm sad" songs that so many musicians write. The majority of Texas is about the death of Dan's father and the drug addiction that followed. What results is a collection of dark songs that mostly have a bright, poppy exterior.

It's very evident that Texas was not completely self-recorded and mixed. The Frequency EP used a lot of the same vocal effects in every song, mostly focusing on chorus and delay with the occasional distortion. The full length does use a variety of vocal effects, but not nearly as often as the EP did. This is also a more musically varied offering than The Frequency EP. Keyboards, bells, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel and a variety of other instruments complement the electronic beats and effects.

The one drawback to electronic music is that it can become repetitive, using the same beat over and over until all appeal has been lost. That does happen in a couple songs, but luckily, the beats aren't featured as much in PlayRadioPlay!'s music as much as they are of most electronic acts. Don't misunderstand though, the beats are still fairly important, but they don't stand out above the vocals and the rest of the instruments, and there is a significant amount of variation in the songs that they don't start sounding the same.

The High Point: Texas's beats are so infectious, they'll make everyone want to dance…even accountants who work in cubicles.

The Low Point: Some of the songs have the same repetitive beat as every techno song ever written.

The Quick Point: He covered the Zombies' "The Way I Feel Inside" fairly well. Head over to YouTube and check it out.

Posted by Cory Roop on Apr 07, 2008 @ 12:00 am