Album Notes

from SCORE MUSIC MAGAZINE
The People Involved - The People Involved
by May Wiseman
January 2003

Would you smash your head against a wall, vexing your brain in angst of hearing the same barring sound time and again? I would and do! Fortunately there is no need for self-inflicted migraine blur if you choose to tune into The People Involved, because there is a palatable sense to their music similar to an eclectic mixture of rock and power pop (Supergrass, The Dandy Warhols), and the impetuous urge that you're listening to a band that has propped their equipment next to some major labels' door in hopes they can't get out and screw up an independent force field this band has enclosed themselves in.

These five guys open this thing with big sound ("Hardwired") having a steady riff pervasive even in front of a vocalist that uses his blessed chords instead of the borrowed voices blaring all over FM radios (yam!). And there is just something about the-fade-into-next-track that always seemed cool- which they do for the second track ("Cantilever"), sort of like the previous song was a warm-up and you're sitting right there in some practice space watching them play. Pop hooks are used in a few of the tunes with the catchy chorus in "Swallow," to the flowing rhythms in "Some Resemblance" where the Radio Head influence is evident.

As far as lyrics go, they seem to be working on somewhat of a small scale here with songs of homicide, "I see you're encircled, You're beaten and bound, I know what they have found" ("Purple"); and lyrics of despairing relations, "Darling, show me the way to the door, I liked you better before" ("More"). The backing music and vocalists Josh Crawly, and Nathan Khyber carry this album so well that even some docile lyrics can be overlooked, and the music is consistent in sound quality. They all really have their chops down.

Chris, Josh, Nathan, Todd, and Clark are not testing indie waters, and they are not passing time because they have nothing else to do. It really doesn't matter what I say here, because everyone will eventually hear them anyway. Sometimes when you just listen to some independent band, you know you're listening to something that's going to be large (like The Cars first album- nearly seven of the nine tunes there became hits). That's similar to what I get here, wishing that there was more rock involved, and the lyrics tallied up to the music mark (everyone writes about the ethics of love anymore), it's still going to spin around the player because it's just plain good.


Delusions of Adequacy
"As a debut album, this is astonishing. There?s an intense dark and rhythmic feeling that not many bands seem to have, or want to have. They are taking their own music to another level. If there is one band I can say has the most hidden talent, I?d take time to consider this band."

InvisibleYouth:
"This is a very eclectic album within the rock realm. In comparison to Radiohead, TPI play in a more driving manner. They also are not afraid to step outside the boundaries and throw in a few oddities. This is a well-rounded record that is very well-written and recorded? "

ActionAttackHellicopter:
"Whether in the key of minor or sardonic major, the melodies travel to covert nooks of musical dexterity and innovation, all the while keeping their sound catchy, smooth and appealing."