Exclusive Premiere: First Single from The Planes' Upcoming EP

The Planes at the very dark Bar Matchless last spring.

"Evacuation Route"

I first met Stephen Perry at a showcase he was putting on at last year's Northside Festival in Brooklyn. The bill included bands like Clouder, The Meaning of Life, Haybaby, Old Monk, Miniboone, and Stephen's own band -- a quartet with PJ Levine, Jeff Patlingrao, and Brian LaRue -- The Planes. After their set, Stephen gave me a card and a T-shirt.

The Planes had impressed me with their unadorned indie pop -- just Fender guitars, Fender amps, a simple approach to songs, and some appropriately slacker-y playing. When I got home, I went to the link on Stephen's card at heartsbleedradio.com and found that we were of a similar mind when it came to the sounds we liked and our desire to let the world hear some of the lesser-known bands making them.

In that spirit, here is the first single from The Planes' upcoming EP Evacuation Kit. "Evacuation Route" captures all of those things I enjoy about classic indie pop. The song is almost exactly 3 minutes. You can hear the single-coil jangle, the reverb. It's endearingly easy-going. The whole thing reminds me a bit of some of the lighter fare from Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips -- "Buggin'" maybe.

That sensibility permeates the entire Evacuation Kit EP which is out on May 21st. The Planes will be celebrating the release with a show at Brooklyn's Shea Stadium that also features The Jeanies, Shivery Shakes, and Big Huge. That show will also serve as the kickoff for The Planes' tour of the Northeast.

Check out "Evacuation Route," and the rest of The Planes' tour dates, below.



The Planes on Tour:

5/21 Brooklyn, NY (EP RELEASE!!!)
Shea Stadium w/ BIG HUGE, Shivery Shakes, The Jeanies

5/22 New London, CT
Oasis Pub w/ The Meaning Of Life, Marvelous Liars, Fatal Film

5/23 Boston, MA (day show)
Midway Cafe w/The Meaning of Life, Streight Angular, Ploys, 100 guitar + drum experiment

5/23 Providence, RI
The Spot Underground w/Pixels, Eric and the Nothing, The Meaning of Life

5/24 Boston, MA
O'Brien's Pub w/ The Meaning of Life, Hammer and Snake, Rotating Strawberry Madonna

5/25 Easthampton, MA
The Homestead w/ The True Jacqueline, Hot Dirt

5/26 Kent, OH
Stone tavern w/ Kid Tested

5/27 Cleveland, OH
The Happy Dog East w/ Kid Tested

5/28 Pittsburgh, PA
The Smiling Moose w/ Ghost Guts

5/29 Washington D.C.
Heaven & Hell w/Johnny Fantastic, EastWestHwy, Castiron Pigeon

5/30 Baltimore, MD
Reverb w/Garage Sale, Oil Can Boy, Asa Kurland & Piper Greenbaum

5/31 Philadelphia, PA
The Fire w/ Twiga, Cheerbreeders, Super Bonanza

6/1 New York, NY
CAKE SHOP NYC w/ Twiga, Scupper, Best Behavior