The Plea - The Dreamers Stadium Album Review

Released on the Planet Function label, The Dreamers Stadium is the debut album from Irish quartet The Plea.  They've previously received radio support from Graham Norton and Rolf Harris, and having played a round of UK venues already this year, will return for a handful of shows in April before returning to perform in their homeland.

To cite the influence of U2 on a guitar band wouldn't be an uncommon notion and some may even suggest it to be lazy journalism, such is the far-reaching influence of the legendary act.  In the case of The Plea though, such parallels are immediately understandable.  Big stadium songs are very much the order of the day, with 'Staggers Anthem' introducing a collection of songs that feature soaring guitars and vocals.  

Singer Denny Doherty sounds and delivers like Bono, to the point where he may as well rename himself Paul Hewson, and with tracks such as 'Praise Be' they really unleash themselves and pack a punch - think of it as their 'Vertigo'. Given the right sort of exposure 'Oh Ay Yay' could easily have festival crowds bouncing along, whilst 'Glass Waltz' provides a nice change of pace toward the tail-end of the record that has many solid rock tracks. What holds the album back from really imposing itself is the lack of variation and originality - you could probably convince a casual music fan this is actually the new U2 offering - and The Plea, like any band, needs their own identity.  If they can do this then 'The Dreamers Stadium' represents a very promising foundation to a band with clear potential.

Alex Lai