Planes Mistaken For Stars “Mercy” CD

"Mercy" is the latest from the mighty Planes Mistaken For Stars, and their first output under the Abacus Recordings banner. While on some level this material represents a fairly significant growth from the band's past work, they haven't branched out but so far from their staple sound. The overall aesthetic of the album still retains that heavy, angular sort of indie rock undercurrent, while highlighting some of the sludgier rock riffs and integrating a much more recognizable post-hardcore quotient. There are still plenty of caustically noisy areas, as well as those venturing into much darker and more somber territory, they just seem to be widening their scope a bit while evening out some of their dynamic shifts in a way. Without eclipsing a few of the band's past glories, the songwriting here is a little more melodic and memorable overall, which I believe actually makes "Mercy" my favorite Planes Mistaken For Stars effort to date when looking at the big picture of the complete record.

The production was handled by Matt Bayles, so of course it sounds excellent, especially with regarding to the pounding basslines evident throughout the album. Granted, the slightly increased level of "polish" (and I use that term loosely as this is of course a very warm and natural sounding record with plenty of texture) does gloss over some of the hoarse character of the vocals that I enjoyed so much on their last album. That's not necessarily something I'd view as a complaint, though, because the dude's voice is so truly fuckin' unique no matter what, so... I'm more than willing to sacrifice a little of that hoarseness in favor of how killer this shit sounds as a whole. It fits. Great, great fuckin' cover art, too. And I'm diggin' the lyrics once again to boot:

Boy you held your head a bit too high, and what'd you get? Cut off at the neck, and what'd you get? Cut off at the neck. Boy you held your head a bit too high, and what'd you get? Cut off at the neck, and there is a line of angels eight miles high just waiting to shit down it. I was told (the doctor said), "Dry out fast or drown slow." I said, "I know, I know, you should call a priest. I do believe I'm about through breathing." I've turned on everyone I've loved and everything I knew. I've done turned blue...

Planes Mistaken For Stars "Never Felt Prettier"
Planes Mistaken For Stars "Little Death"

Make the purchase if you enjoy the tunes, and this puppy's on sale for a mere $7 right now for the ol' holidays straight from the label:

Abacus Recordings