07.05.06 - MSN Music Filter
By, SHRUG

"You Never Let Me Believe," The Plains.

We played the Plains' new CD The Boy in the Mansuit driving home from Olympia last weekend. When I first heard this song I thought it was about control problems in a relationship: It's intimately recorded, sung in a hushed tone. The title reminded me of Wilco's "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart"; a nonsensical supposition of the will over emotion.

When I read main Plain Aaron Semer's liner notes to this song, he compared it to themes from Pink Floyd's The Wall -- it's about the earthbound restrictions many educators impose on their students' whims and musings. The fact that Semer wrote a topical song, but made it sound personal, speaks to his genius. He knows where he's supposed to aim, the frequency listeners will respond to.

The Boy in the Mansuit is what we call a "D.I.Y." release: no established label was involved. It's one of my favorite albums so far this year.