The Getaway Plan are a breath of fresh air into contemporary music, here is a band not afraid to step outside the norm of their genre. They are brave enough to explore both sides of the rock music spectrum with their latest album Other Voices Other Rooms. The album encompasses all alternative aspects of rock in away that has not been seen for a long time. Displaying falsetto vocals harmonic guitar solos and some fantastic haunted sounding piano sections Other Voices Other Rooms stands out as one of the best releases of 2008 so far.
The album begins with a crackling radio playing a mans chants repeatedly this is gradually over taken by an incredibly ghostly violin section that builds up into an almost unbearable climax that ultimately leads into what the author believes is the stand out track on the record Streetlight. Streetlight is one of the more traditional rock songs on the record beginning with a full blown chord structured introduction and developing into a wonderfully contrasting verse layout featuring for the first time for the first time on the record the use of piano which is ultimately a trademark feature of this album. Here is also the first display of vocalist Matthew Wright's brilliant vocal capacity on display with the falsetto vocals reminiscent of Matt Bellamy and Thom Yorke. However what's more impressive about Wrights vocals is his acknowledgment of tone and when his voice needs to move up or down octaves or many in the case of the scream section at 3:02 in the song. This is followed up by the most commercially successful song of the record Where The City Meets The Sea, the structure to this song is largely similar to Streetlight and as these two have been the first two singles off the album its easier to see that these were made far more radio friendly then the rest of the record.
Nonetheless it's still an impressive song that perhaps most efficiently on the record demonstrates the quality of Clint Splattering's harmonic guitar solos. The harmonics of Splattering's solos allow him to tie into the chords being played by the piano while the rhythm section maintains the groove of the song. Sleep Spindles follows this track and it's immediately recognizable as the heaviest track on the album. It represents an indication of the bands earlier hardcore roots demonstrated by the opening guitar riff, Wrights extended scream vocals and the Drop C tuning. The song is also noted for its inventive drum beat which is a credit to a rising star in the world of percussion drummer Aaron Barnett also the drum roll at 3:10 deserves special mention. The breakdown at the end of the song is what marks The Getaway Plan out from other bands of its genre its deliberate change from the theme of the rest of the song representing I style different from the first record through moments like this its clear that Getaway Plan have stepped away from the likes of Prom Queen and The Used to create there own niche in the Post Hardcore Rock genre.
The next song New Medicine (Stay With Me) is a representation of this niche, it begins with a simple melodic piano section enter a simple guitar riff with an interesting echo effect as we are lead through a melodic verse ultimately finishing up with a bass slide into the powerful chorus. The note selection by Clint Splattering in this song is worth a mention as he is already demonstrating a very mature musical mind at such a young age displayed through both his chord and note selection. Following this track is Shadows, the author believes that this track has the best opening of any on the record with it begins with what could almost be the beginning of a jazz song, a simple rhythm guitar part accompanying Wrights towering hypnotic vocals perfectly matching. The verse is supported by an almost lazy guitar part with sparse notes casually repeated.
A Lover's Complaint is the seventh song on the album, it represents the bands growth as a songwriters. It's also obviously a love song about rejection and heartbreak “How could you be so faithless”. The song is not particularly one that stands out on the record but to the musically savvy it is a significant example of the bands growth lyrically since Hold, Conversation. Red Flag is the albums eighth song and is a perfect example of the bands musical depth with the song beginning with a piano intro that would not be out of place in the Symphonic Orchestra. The band then enters with the guitarist playing the notes of the piano sequence. This song changes directions so many times it's quite amazing and yet while the chorus is awfully similar to that of A Lovers Complaint the verse structure does enough to make the song stand out for itself. Entr'acte is an incredible beautiful extended introduction to Rhapsody on a Windy Night. It features a chilling choir that elicits memories of a cathedral with the choir singing at someone's funeral. The production team at Boomtown Records must be commended here as if you weren't watching your computer you would swear there was no change in song when Windy Night comes on it begins with some fantastically melodic percussion work and a simple yet moving guitar lick that ultimately leads into the last of the real rock as such of the record the band builds up in perfect synchronization leading the listener on a musical journey before letting them crash back down to Earth.
Transmission is by far the most abstract and alternative of the albums tracks and is an interesting end to the album, possibly representing a change in the bands direction. The song is largely dominated by an electronica based drum beat which guides the song throughout. The piano is brought in harmony with the guitars and drum beat to lead the band to one last high point perfectly manipulated with use of overdubs. Before ultimately finishing with a simple yet breathtaking strings section.
Overall there is little to fault with this record, and though fans of the previous albums may resent the change in musical direction overall there is still plenty of the old Getaway Plan that they came to love. If this albums anything to go by The Getaway Plan will be around for a very long time.
