The Finals - Plan Your Getaway (CD)

All Music Guide

New Jersey indie rockers the Finals debut with the unremarkable Plan Your Getaway, a dozen standardissue slices of radioready alternapop. First single "They'll Never Know" does a good job of recalling Death Cab For Cutie and their ilk, but there's little sense of personality to be found in these songs. In their favor, keyboardist Christian Kisala adds a dark vibe akin to the Cure and Power Corruption and Liesera New Order on songs like "Raining In My Heart." The problem is, that bit of retro postpunk isn't nearly enough to make up for the fact that this is the sort of band who write songs called "Raining In My Heart." Cliched lyrics, unmemorable melodies and the plain voices of singers Matt Reilly and Jason Sazer add up to a dull, anodyne album that sounds like it was created specifically to end up on the soundtrack to some teen drama on the WB Network.

- Stewart Mason, All Music Guide