SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: STUCK ON PLANET EARTH – BEAUTIFUL NOWHERE

Stuck On Planet Earth
Beautiful Nowhere
Anthem Entertainment

After a number of years as a staple of the Toronto live music community and a handful of singles and EPs, Stuck On Planet Earth have released their long-awaited debut full-length album. Beautiful Nowhere is a fantastic collection of 10 songs that sees the alt-rock/pop trio attempt to steer the genre into uncharted territory for the new decade.

“I Want It Now” opens the record with Latin rhythms, ambient, and occasionally dissonant, acoustic guitar and raspy vocals, before exploding into a groovy chorus inspired by the Josh Klinghoffer era of Red Hot Chili Peppers of the last decade. The contrast between verse and chorus is equally striking as it is oddly cohesive, and sets the tone perfectly for the album with an anthem for the clubs. The singles “Ghosts On The Radio” and “Higher Than Drugs” teeter closer to the alternative pop you’d expect from the radio, however, both tracks bring a sense of excitement and risk that often feels absent from much of the mainstream radio format.

Beyond the singles, Beautiful Nowhere continues to live up to its name and hype. Songs like “Skin Talk”, “Permanent”, and “Serotonin” further twist the alternative pop of today into a style that is simply more interesting and engaging while “Animals” feels like it could have been co-written with Dave Grohl. The album comes to a close with the ambient ballad, “Just To Have You”, which further demonstrates the range of the band’s songwriting and recorded performance.

Whether you’ve seen them in the clubs throughout Toronto or not, Beautiful Nowhere is a record that proves Stuck On Planet Earth’s worth as a band and songwriters who simply aren’t afraid of pushing stylistic boundaries that play on both modern pop and alternative rock. Shedding the grunge and grit of their original releases Beautiful Nowhere is a strong example of musical reinvention as Stuck On Planet Earth delivers a record that feels sophisticated and original. Stuck On Planet Earth have found their sound, and Beautiful Nowhere is immediately distinctive of just that.

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