Planes Mistaken For Stars

Considering the current glut of emo bands (both crappy and talented) currently making the rounds, polluting and diluting as they merrily go about their wussie ways. Singing/whining about whatever adolescent failures they haven’t been able to reconcile since their various high school graduations (or dropouts), it’s a joy to find a band like Planesmistakenforstars. The band’s roots are firmly entrenched in noise rock, emo and post-punk, but without ever sounding whiny or contrived; dubbed screamo by their bio, Planesmistakenforstars is much more. Six songs (five originals and an Unbroken cover) comprise Knifeinthemarathon (their second release for Deep Elm) and it runs the gambit from melodic, to chaotic, to frenzied, to relentless and back again. And that is pretty much Planesmistakenforstars formula for all their songs on Knifeinthemarathon, but it works brilliantly, especially on the leadoff track “Scratching Pounds,” “Leaning Room” and “66 Crush.” While Knifeinthemarathon is only an EP, it never lets up, even in the mellower, atmospheric parts (“Anthem”). Planesmistakenforstars is definitely a band to watch out for, as Knifeinthemarathon proves they are head and shoulders above many of their peers.