Planes Mistaken For Stars βDo You Still Love?β is in stores worldwide today. Pick up a copy of the indie exclusive version, limited to 700, at your local records store.
A harrowing document of life, death and transcendence, Do You Still Love Me? is the fifth album from Planes Mistaken for Stars (PMFS), the bandβs second outing for Deathwish Records and first new music since 2016. It is also the first PMFS release since the death of frontman Gared OβDonnell, whose cancer diagnosis loomed heavily over the recording and whose ghost guided the mix. Chemo and radiation would not stop him from making this masterpiece, in which the band finds itself reeling from the gut-wrenching horrors of their leaderβs unimaginable absence.
Written in Peoria amidst the forced isolation of a global pandemic and recorded by Sanford Parker in Chicago, these thirteen songs burn the ears to listen. Album opener βMatthew is Deadβ wastes no time with niceties as Planes mourns the 2017 death of founding guitarist Matt Bellinger β Garedβs throat-shredded rasp seethes as if taunting himself: Youβre dead, youβre dead, youβre deadβ guttural human screams unbottled and broken glass shattered as transcendental meditation and musical catharsis, for band and listener alike. These acute and raw moments are found throughout the record, audible wounds you can hear, see, taste and almost touch. Weβve only got the night, as Gared knew and preached and lived. Just one last drink, shall we begin?
Do You Still Love Me? carries forward Planesβ natural evolution beyond post-hardcore and metal-tinged rock nβ roll, unveiling new layers with each listen. Intertwined vocals and infectious melodies simmer beneath the surface and occasionally boil over, shards of guitar strike like lightning as the rhythm section pounds its marching orders. Whether pummeling mercilessly or tenderly relenting, Do You Still Love Me? shows a band unafraid to lose itself in the musical maelstrom. I donβt have the shakes, the shakes have me β itβs not an easy listen, yet offers immense rewards with time, alchemizing a unique beauty from the pain and tragedy of its creation. Itβs an emotional bloodletting for Planes and their extended family around the world, a collective primal scream of coping with life and last breaths, and eternal proof that death is truly not the end.
TRACK LISTING: 01. Matthew is Dead 02. Fix Me 03. Further 04. The Arrow 05. Modern Logic 06. Punch the Gauge 07. Do You Still Love Me? No. 1 08. Run Rabbit Run 09. Peace 10. Put Your Heart on the Fire 11. The Calming 12. In Hell 13. Do You Still Love Me? No. 2