People In Planes

People In Planes is an alternative rock group from Cardiff, Wales, active since 2005. The band forms around Gareth Jones, Kris Blight, John Maloney, Peter Roberts and Ian Russell. Earlier names for the group include Robots in the Sky and Tetra Splendour.

Background and formation

Peter Roberts and Gareth Jones meet at primary school and later begin writing music together. In their early teens, they are influenced by the first Supergrass album, I Should Coco, and decide to form a band. The first line-up, with Gareth on piano, Peter on guitar, Kris on bass and John on drums, performs as Robots in the Sky and records a psychedelic double A-side single on Cardiff label Complete Control. The group then signs to EMI/Chrysalis, but the first stage of the project ends after the release of its first full-length album under the name Tetra Splendour, Splendid Animation.

People In Planes

The band later records with producer Sam Williams, whose credits include Supergrass’s I Should Coco. This work leads to a new line-up, with Gareth Jones moving into a more prominent frontman role and Ian Russell joining on keyboards to complete the five-piece. People In Planes then signs to Wind-up Records in 2005 after a debut performance at Mercury Lounge in New York.

Recordings and performances

People In Planes gains attention with an introductory EP and the single “If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode),” which appears on alternative and college rock charts. The track has a video directed by Joaquin Phoenix. The group’s debut album, As Far As The Eye Can See…, follows, and the band tours the United States with The Bravery, Blue October, VHS or Beta and The (International) Noise Conspiracy.

The band also appears at South by Southwest and CMJ, and on television programmes including Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live. Its second album is made through sessions with four producers across seven studios in America, England and Wales. These include Raine Maida, the duo Eleven, Matt Squire and Dan Austin. Part of the record is then shaped in Pete Roberts’s bedroom, reflecting the group’s home-studio approach.

Style and best-known songs

People In Planes is described through music built on melodic songwriting, hooks, hard-rock drive and atmospheric passages, with lyrics focused on emotion, relationships and human existence. The group is best known for “Barracuda,” “If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)” and “Last Man Standing.”