Album Review: ‘Wax Diamond’ by the Planes

3.5 stars out of 5

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Like an indie-pop Sully Sullenberger, Stephen Perry brought the Planes in for a safe landing a couple of years ago. The band had a nice little run on the New York/Brooklyn scene, recording, touring, doing those things bands do. But alas, it was time for the band to disband.

Soon enough, though, Perry felt that nagging urge to lead a band again. But still call it the Planes. And so, here we are, with their first recorded offering, Wax Diamond. Apparently there’s no bad blood, as the album was engineered and mixed by the Planes’ former drummer, Jeff Patlingrao.

Right off the bat, Perry allows the Planes’ new members to introduce themselves: “Red Shift” begins with a bouncy bass line from Jaclyn Perrone underscored by Jason Maksymillian’s crisp drumming. Perry’s perfect-pop guitar and fragile croon soon join the fray. But what’s this after the chorus — a blast of noisy guitar? So hold on a minute, is this an indie-pop record, or is it indie rock? Fasten your seatbelts, passengers, it’s both. Perry seems to have spent equal time marinating in early-90s twee and also in Pavement.

“Stick Around,” an insistent slice of pop, is one of several tracks featuring backing vocals by Perrone. (Boy/girl vocals — we’ll put a check mark in the indie-pop column.) In an alternate world, maybe this is a hit single. In an alternate-facts world, it already is! With a bullet!

“The Box” is probably the most rock-ish song in this collection, though “College Crush” and “Trident” also lean in that direction. Perry’s penchant for pedals permeates.

“ATMs” rides a pleasing pop melody, with a rock guitar solo thrown in for good measure. And “River” may be the record’s most successful melding of pop and rock.

The Planes slow things down on the album closer, “Meditation ’17.” True to Wax Diamond‘s musical motif, the song nearly builds to a Faith No More-style rock epic… before gently twinkling into the night.