aaamusic | On 18, Oct 2010

Plain White T’s sudden popularity a few years back was a bit of a fluke – the song that thrust them into the mainstream (Hey There Delilah, in case you were living under a rock in 2007) actually sounds very little like anything else on Every Second Counts. That didn’t stop scores of teenage girls from falling in love with the song and proclaiming Plain White T’s their new favourite band. That was three years ago, and needless to say, the hype has since died down considerably.

So what’ve Plain White T’s been up to all this time? Well, back in March the band released Big Bad World – now comes Wonders of the Younger. It’s clear from the offset the band have matured a whole lot since the height of their popularity: tracks are a lot more balanced than anything we’ve ever heard from this band before. This is not to say their sound is drastically different; songs are still pretty much exclusively rooted in the pop-punk vein (with an emphasis on the pop). However, there’s a definite sense that the band have branched out considerably here, incorporating various different genres via a multitude of instruments – an original take on a tired scene. Comparisons to Panic At The Disco could be drawn – Wonders of the Younger definitely has elements of baroque pop, and it works.

Ultimately what makes Wonders of the Younger a winner is that it proves what most of us know already – that is, you don’t have to recycle the same sound constantly to be successful. Plain White T’s have taken a step in a new direction here – it may not be a radical change, but it’s significant enough.

Author: Katharine Sparks