Welsh band People in Planes evolves from its 2006 debut

By John Benson

The group will perform at the Agora Ballroom on Tuesday.

Modern rock act People in Planes was supposed to take off a year ago with the release of its sophomore effort for Wind-Up Records.

After experiencing a successful stateside tour, with positive press starting to buzz about the Welsh act, the five-piece had the lion’s share of the new album ready to record when the decision was made to put off going into the studio.

The band then spent several months honing its already written material while rounding out what would become “Beyond The Horizon,” which is due out this September.

For lead singer-guitarist-keyboardist Gareth Jones, the decision not to force the recording of the album proved to be the right choice.

“For me personally, the vocal performances are far superior to sort of the early work of these songs,” said Jones, calling from New York City. “Plus, I think we were being a little bit self-indulgent with the way we were structuring some of the songs, which I think were a detriment to the listener.

“So we pulled it back again, kind of avoided wigging out for eight minutes and honed it into more of an experience. It’s more listenable now.”

Among the band’s favorites tracks on “Beyond The Horizon” are the upbeat “Mayday [M’aidez],” the down-tempo “Get on the Flaw” and the dynamic “Pretty Buildings.”

The latter track, which will be the new album’s lead single when it’s released to radio in the next few weeks, really stands out in defining how People in Planes has evolved from its 2006 debut effort, “As Far as the Eye Can See.”

“We tried to use a lot more influences to make a more soundscape like record,” Jones said. “‘Pretty Buildings’ is piano driven and then builds up into a dramatic and guitar rock song. I suppose it’s something like the Smashing Pumpkins and that kind of sound.

“The record on the whole really tries to move things forward as far as our own ability goes. We’re trying to push a few more boundaries and to get out of our comfort zone so there will be a bit of a departure from ‘As Far as the Eye Can See.’” Fans can see and hear the difference for themselves when the act returns to Northeast Ohio for a Tuesday show at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland.

Jones feels one thing in People in Planes’ favor is the fact the band won’t be fighting the clich of being yet another U.K. band hoping to find success on this side of the Atlantic. The reason being, the band never truly experienced any notoriety in its homeland.

So in many ways People in Planes is hoping to follow in the footsteps of the Gavin Rossdale-led act Bush, which broke its post-grunge sound stateside to the tune of multiplatinum albums without every truly enjoying the same level of accomplishment in Britain.

“Yeah, it seems to happen a lot and vice-versa,” Jones said. “Bands like The Strokes, The Killers, they go to the U.K. and blow up huge and then they come back and can maintain a career over here. Kings of Leon is another example. For us, it’s great. We’re already three years into [being in America], so it doesn’t feel like we’ve just come over anymore.

“It feels like America is ingrained in our career now. Being a Welsh band doesn’t seem to be that relevant anymore. We all live in New York City, and it feels like we’re departed from the U.K. music scene. So our focus is being here and living here. We might as well be American. That’s what it feels like.”