Customer Reviews

Per Second Per Second Per Second Every Second

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

'Per Second' epitomizes what pop music should be, but so rarely is: gorgeous. Wheat's fourth album is so beautiful and dreamy it hurts. If you want a few catchy, inspiring songs, this album has it in "I Met a Girl", "Life Still Applies", and the breath-taking "These Are Things". Or, if you want to fall asleep listening to the prettiest ethereal songs, try "This Rough Magic", "Hey, So Long", or "The Beginner". What makes Wheat so fantastic is their ability to take the elements of modern pop, which have decayed into repetitive and stale radio playlists, into something which sounds like all the perfect things in your life in a song. I love this album.

After waiting 4 years since thier last effort 'hope and adams' perhaps i set myself up to be dissapointed.
This is not a bad album at all but it sounds very safe and predictable throughout.
It is a more mature album than 'hope and adams' but it seems with that maturity comes a blandness, this sounds like it comes from any year in the last 20, unlike the last album which had much more of an edge with its ambient and abstract production.
During 50 minutes of this album i was really hoping something new was going to happen, but it never did, in fact there are songs that sound really similar,you can sing 'i met a girl' along to the chorus of 'some days' due to the almost identical bass line.
So im there thinking 'has this band run out of ideas?' then comes a hidden track, an inferior version of 'dont i hold you' from their previous album stripped of all emotion, really not needed.
I must stress again that this is not a bad album 'hey so long' has some really nice touches and the melody of 'the beginner' rivals 'dont i hold you' in the goosebumps contest.
I hope its a grower but i just expected something a bit more inventive from wheat.

This album represents a fairly major evolutionary leap for Wheat from the excellent lo-fi indie music they present on Hope & Adams and Medeiros. The change seems as major to me as the shift in Wilco from A.M. to Summerteeth. They have gone from being a pretty much a sadcore band to a brilliant, sparkly, edgy pop band (sort of like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot/ Wilco crossed with the Fountains of Wayne) Hard to pick out favorites when the whole damn thing is so good, but check out "I met a girl", "World United Already", and "Life Still Applies".

I agree with the second poster that a comparison to Phish and Dave Matthews is insulting to Wheat, but hey maybe it will influence the folk who listen to that stuff to start developing a little taste and discernment in their music :-)

I just got turned on to this CD by a friend of mine who is into 'indie' music. He told me nothing of the band, not even the title of the CD or name of the band, and as I listened, I just kept nodding my head, enjoying what I was hearing. If you like good songcraft and heartfelt music, this release delivers in spades! In fact, I would have to say this is one of my favorite CD's of the last few years, along with Steven Delopoulos 'Me Died Blue', and The Church 'After Everything Now This'. I am a sucker for well crafted, dreamy, melodious songs. I hope this band 'goes places'. An excellent release!

It's truly better than a lot of records out there, but I can't say I'm a fan of this direction at all. If you want something a little moodier and, I'll say it, a tad more indie, get Hope and Adams. It's so much more fulfilling. I feel dumb and snotty writing any of this, but it's all true.

Wheat Radio! Amazing. Sparkle. Almost Sunshine! I loved Hope and Adams and this record is almost as much of a surprise. Now, I know all of this has already happened and I'm out of it and shallow, but I go on instinct with albums. I really like it. With sixty million groups out there and money ruling the game getting an " I really like it " has to count somewhere. I've ordered several of their other titles based on these two recordings. That has to count somewhere. I even got an extra copy of Hope and Adams just in case.

It took me a few listens before I fully appreciated this album. Sure, there are a few songs that grab you from the start (These are things, Some Days, World United Already), but the others are as good or better once you acquire the taste. If you haven't given this cd a few spins you're missing out. Wheat has a great pop sound with an unpredictable edge. It sounds familiar and fresh at the same time. Highly recommended!!

First off, I know nothing about this band's other albums. I think I bought this because of one of those Amazon recommendations. Anyway, this a very good pop rock record. The words are intelligent, not sappy or childish. The production is first rate, and the songwriting is quality stuff. I'm trying to think of a band comparison....Dada pops into mind...also along the lines of Adam Daniel on the slower tunes, or David Mead's style of pop perhaps, with more muscle in the vocals? Great vocals. Definitely a good listen.

this is one smart record that should appeal to fans of power pop, commercial pop and the indie crowd as well--r.i.y.l. Fountains Of Wayne, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Owsley, Matthew Sweet, etc.

Wheat's "Per Second Per Second Per Second... Every Second" opens like an angstier version of the White Stripes: "I met a girl I'd like to know better/but I'm already with someone." It's a fun band, but lacks solid songwriting to match up to its fun indie-pop-rock beats.

The insanely catchy "I Met a Girl" opens the album, a poppy lament about falling in love when you are involved with somebody else. Then it kicks into a rock-ier space with "Breathe" and "Life Still Applies," a sinister little song that climaxes with howls of "Life... STTIIILLL applies!" Sprinkled through the rock are softer songs like the pensive ballad "Go Get the Cops," or the sparkling pop tune "This Rough Magic."

Wheat is a pleasant listen, but not a great one -- it has some competantly catchy alt-country-tinged rock-pop, with enough energy to keep up to the end. While "I Met A Girl" is undeniably the top "single" of the album, the songs that follow are pretty enjoyable as well, though not quite as engaging.

The biggest stumbling block is the songwriting, sometimes clumsy but often just ordinary and a bit simplistic: "I was searching for zero today/I was pressing rewind and play/I was hoping that something would stay." It's a good thing that Scott Levesque's pleasant vocals make up for that, whether playfully murmuring or uttering anguished howls.

Levesque is also the lead guitarist. He and fellow guitarist Ricky Brennan do a pretty solid job; there's nothing to complain about in songs like "Closer to Mercury," with its cascading riffs. And the third core member of the band, Brendan Harney, gets to show his stuff in songs like "World United Already," showing work that is pretty good.

Wheat's third release is an energetic album that straddles the line between indie rock and power pop. While it's not a classic, "Per Second Per Second Per Second... Every Second" is definitely catchy and entertaining.