Big Bad World; Plain White T's

Big Bad World is Plain White T's second album under a major label, Hollywood Records. Their first album, Every Second Counts was released in 2006 which spawned the very soulful Hey There Delilah, a personal favorite of mine.

Sadly their recent effort falls flat in comparision to their earlier one. The album has a very bubble-gum pop feeling to it and it's in no way as soulful as their previous one. The band appears to have taken a very different direction with all the harmonizing in their songs, kind of reminds me of Backstreet Boys. Tom Higgension has written every song off the album either independently or in collaboration with various writers. Though this did prove the skilled pen-man ship of Higgenson, it also led the album to have no particular style in the creativity department. It seems to be all over the place taking influence from everyone inside and outside their home genre.

The album starts off with the song under the same title as that of the album; 'Big Bad World'. The song has nothing really special about it. When I heard it the first time I was severly dissappointed given their previous effort. The lyric content is also far too immature for the group. Jonas Brothers would rather be doing this but even they wouldn't be caught dead covering this hype.

The second track 'Natural Disaster' takes a slightly more rock approach. But again the song doesn't do any wonders. The repeating clapping and chanting sort of gets on my nerves. And once again, the lyrical content is nothing that would make me get hooked upon it. And this was the first single released off the record. Moving on to the next one!

'Serious Mistake' is the third track off the album and finally gives me some of the stuff that I was waiting for. It has a nice homely feel with the light guitar strumming during the verse progression. The vocals in this particular song have a certain feel to it that develops a connection with the listener. It's the first decent track off the record.

'Rainy Day' is another decent track off the album. The song develops from a slow power ballad and then drops back into the low register. The lyrics hold meaning. Now this is the Plain White T's that got me one their band wagon. It's sort of reminds me of something that I would expect from Avril Lavigne, but I'm not complaining.

The best track from the record comes next. '1, 2, 3, 4' is the one song that makes you keep coming back for more. It's totally pop but not bubble gum. The lyrics are really cleverly written and Tom Higgenson's vocals really wrap themselves around the song. It's the unadulterated really good stuff. Plus the video is one the simplest and yet one of the best video I've seen.

'That Girl' is the second rock song track off the album. It basically flips the story that is told during Natural Disaster but somehow it's more worth listening. The harmonizing is slightly Mariah Carey excluding the falsetto. It's good but not great. While it will give you a good time but it won't stay on your playlist for a really substantial period of time.

'Sunlight' displays the soulful side of Plain White T's once more. Though the track is indeed one of the my favorite, it gives the feeling as if the Plain White T's are more of an a cappella group rather than a rock group. Still this is one track I'll give them points for. I'm glad they released this song as their third single, it's one of the decent tracks off the album.

'I Really Want You' has GOT to be the weirdest song off the whole record and possibly also one of the weirdest songs I've ever heard. The chorus is just the same lines being repeated again and it lacks any possible depth. The song seems like a knock-off version of Garth Brooks' 'Ain't Going Down ('Til The Sun Comes Up) but I guess that's probably because of the fast wording during the verses and the harmonica being played. There is absolutely nothing special about this track and I would recommend that you skip to the next immediately.

The ninth track, 'Meet Me In California' is a decent acoustic pop number. It's certainly better than the previous track. The track is a smoothly placed number which gets you humming. It's one of my favorite track off the album and I would have loved this to be released as a single.

Fortunately the album ends on a better note than how it stated. 'Someday' is another soulful number of the record with a slight touch of rock to it. The lyric are certianly amongst the better half of the whole bunch.

I'd give it a 6 out of 10. It's not anywhere near my favorite albums from 2008 but it certainly is worth lending your ear to. Just skip the tracks I mentioned and the rest will do you justice. Till next time, cheers!

Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; mailto:saadikk87@hotmail.com)