Plain White T's - Every Second Counts

While it could be said that hard work and determination has given the five-piece power pop act Plain White T's their current impressive platform, that phrase is usually coupled with an artistry worth hearing in the first place. After all, a hidden gem is just that - a gem. In this case, it seems more a case of continuing to try until you happen to get lucky the 100th time.

To explain, Plain White T's have been around for almost a decade, which is hard to believe when listening to Every Second Counts, the band's debut on Fearless Records. After opening for Jimmy Eat World and playing the Warped Tour three times, the band finally hit the big time and just recently found themselves on MTV's TRL program with their acoustic hit "Hey There Delilah." Yet the newfound popularity is hardly justified by the album's musical content.

Every Second Counts gargles from the beginning from swallowing too much of the pop/punk seawater it's trying to stay afloat in. It's a crowded pool, this genre, and the standout artists really have to be something special. It's amazing, then, that PWT's have been around as long as they considering most pop/punk acts fizzle out or morph into something more artistically appreciated (i.e. Relient K). Instead, its tracks like "Hate (I Really Don't Like You)" that simply showcase a band treading water, unwilling to remove their tongue from their own cheek. The trend continues on "Friends Don't Let Friends Dial Drunk" while "Write You A Song" might as well jump up and down to be the next "Delilah." It's a band that doesn't know where to go from here and happened to get lucky that someone noticed before it was too late.