Not the end yet

Plants and Animals’ third album The End of That is not likely to mean the end of Plants and Animals; more likely it’s putting the cap on the end of the chaotic shitshow that pretty much everyone encounters in their 20s.

“Before” opens the album softly and politely with Nicolas Basque’s acoustic guitar and Warren Spicer’s quiet, calm vocals before picking up the pace in “The End of That” where a real hook is introduced. “Song For Love” sounds like a full-on jam fest: “Sittin’ in the sun blowin’ smoke and talkin’ shit with no reasons/I’m happy to be out disconnected from the scene at the hotel/I’m lookin’ forward to a time where my mind is not so easily scattered/And rememberin’ the days when your love was all that mattered.”

Spicer loves repeating himself over and over and it allows his voice to become more of an instrument and integral part of the songs rather than simply the lyrics man or the frontman. You’ll hear his repetitive tics in “Before” and “Control Me.”

The album gets heavier as it moves along. The acoustic is replaced with electric in “2010” and “Crisis!” and the reverb in the final track “Runaways” was dearly missed throughout the rest of the album. “2010” and “Crisis!” both clock in at over six minutes, which would be okay if they were able to hold the listener’s attention. The middle of an album is often a rough one to successfully conquer as it is; the album has climatic moments but not necessarily where they were intended to be.

The End of That is hopefully only part one of what being young adults sounds like according to Plants and Animals. Spicer & co. leave plenty of doors open and room to grow and it is anticipated.