Press Play

Press Play’s self-titled debut album is something else indeed. With a crazy mix of styles (everything from 80s pop to urban to cinematic orchestration stylings), Press Play is definitely unique. Even their name invites the listener in – saying, “We dare you to listen to us!” But sadly, it was one of the most disappointing albums of the year so far – but not for the reasons you might think.

They’re not a bad band. In fact, when Press Play nails a song, they nail it. Instant hooks, lyrics you find yourself singing four hours later driving down the highway, and a hefty dose of musical inventiveness. This is clearly a very talented band, but they play it safe so much of the time that it manages to drain much of the joy and energy away from what this album could have been. Too many of the songs rely on the easy rhyme and “Christanese” words. Do we really need another song with John 3:16 word for word (“I’m Alive”)?

The band kicks things off with “Break It Out,” a nice album opener with hints of The Killers in their Hot Fuss stage. Lead singer Dave Hanley switches things up a bit by almost immediately introducing the vocals of Paige Adkins, a nice surprise in the mix.

“I Give My Love” is the first hint of what could be. A bouncy track pledging love to God, it will definitely be spinning in your head hours later. Adkins joins the mix again, giving a slight urban edge to an otherwise straight up pop song. And the band ramps up the energy with the next song, “Say Say.” The urban edge takes center stage here, even featuring a rap interlude. It’s undeniably one of the strongest tracks on the album. Lyrically, it’s pretty simple (”I want to say/Say all I want is you/You you/Shout it out/You’re everything“), but there’s such a passion here that the words take on a new life.

“I Love Who You Are” finds Adkins taking center stage, and while a fine song, it relies too much on Natasha Bedingfield-type hooks and buries their best line (”Your love is a book of fairy tales come true“) in the middle of some incredibly cliché lines. “Angels Sing” is the ballad of the album, and could easily find it’s way onto the stages of churches across the country. It’s perfectly suited for a strong Sunday morning at church. Same for the excellent song, “Unashamed”.

Towards the end of the album, the songs start getting longer (anywhere from 4 to just a little over 5 minutes), and while the songs aren’t bad, the extra minute or two makes them seem unfortunately repetitive.

But buried in there is the solid gem, “Fixation.” Between the lyrics (”I’ve got a fixation for you/I’m captivated more by you… I can’t live without you here/I can’t live unless I know you’re near/You’ve got me so fixated, captivated“) and the creativity in the musical side of things, including a nod to Danny Elfman in his Charlie and the Chocolate Factory phase, it is easily the most fun song on the album.

All in all, Press Play isn’t a bad album. But with such shining examples of brilliance in “Fixation,” “Say Say” and even “Unashamed,” there is so much more that this album could have been. Press Play just needs to keep pushing the envelope. People crave honesty, intensity, and creativity in how we share what’s in our hearts. No one ever got anywhere by refusing to take risks. And if Press Play can just keep running away from the safe route and really launch into what’s only hinted at here, they will be unstoppable.

Tagged as: Press Play

↓ 3 comments

#1 Matthew Barnett on July 11th, 2009 at 8:48 am

I get the chance to speak with this band at every conference. I have never seen audience get into music more then Press Play. Kids go nuts over this band. In fact, people line up for miles to buy their CD’s. I am proud of them. People can review them and analyze them but I see the fruit on the road and the response is in the kids. They are going to be too big for pop as you will see by mainstream releases soon. However, there heart is always in the church. There reviews have gotten everything from 5 out of 5, 5 out of 10, some secular called it the perfect Christian album. Hard to know what critics want. CBN went crazy for them. All I know, is that they are the friendliest (Non Diva) band I’ve ever met and they have made this pastor proud.

Matthew Barnett (Their Proud Pastor)

#2 John Wofford on July 11th, 2009 at 3:30 pm

Lynn,

Killer review, girl. Really spot-on. You nailed the group’s creativity without ceding the point that the lyrics need some hardcore work.

Thanks for the heads-up. If all reviews were written with this finesse, music criticism would be worth something to folks these days.

Keep it up.

#3 Lynn Renee Maxcy on July 29th, 2009 at 3:13 pm

Hey guys,
Thanks so much for your comments! Matthew, I’m absolutely certain these guys are amazing in concert. I would love to see them some day. And truth be told, three of their songs have been on permanent rotation on my iPod since I wrote this review. I’m excited to see them grow as a band.

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