Chicago's
Plain White T's were happily cruising along as an indie pop-punk footnote until
a stroke of dumb luck (and, admittedly, a really great hook) catapulted the
band's "Hey There Delilah" onto pop charts and eventually into a 2008 Grammy
nomination. It's been three years and one major-label deal since "Delilah" was
actually recorded,
though, and in spite of increasingly higher stakes, the T's haven't replicated
the song's mainstream success. They have, however, scored some sub-mainstream
victories via TV, where their work has been embraced as audio wallpaper by the
teen/tween shows iCarly and Greek. With Big Bad World (which, mercifully,
doesn't feature yet another re-release of "Delilah"), the band tries hard to
hold onto that niche. Heck, there are moments here that aim even lower than iCarly
demographically:
The limp, jangly title track and the cloying "1, 2, 3, 4" in particular make
the Naked Brothers Band sound like Morbid Angel. The T's music has never been
particularly edgy, but at least with 2002's raggedy, Jimmy Eat World-inspired Stop—or even the tender,
affecting "Delilah," for that matter—there was an attempt at substance.
This time around, it's all saccharine pop and desperate ballads.