Somebody Needs to Reissue The People’s The Premise Is Sound
Once upon a time, there was a band from Kansas City known simply as The People. 25 years ago, they ventured onto the New Band Showcase at the Cornerstone Festival where they proceeded to melt everyone’s faces, mine included, with their swaggering, pouty blend of Brit-pop and Bowie-esque glam rock. It was completely unlike anything else at the festival — to this day, it remains one of my favorite Cornerstone performances — and I was instantly won over.
As soon as The People’s set was done, I ran over to their merch table to get a copy of their debut album, The Premise Is Sound, fully expecting to be in on the ground floor of a band that everyone would soon be talking about. From my review, which I published a few months after that New Band Showcase performance:
Even though something called “The New Band Showcase” may conjure up images of your little brother’s punk band, this year it revealed quite a gem in The People. If you’re looking for a band with plenty of Anglophiliac swagger and attitude, but also with the talent to back it up, than The People are for you. Cornerstone 2000 saw them on a small stage. Hopefully, Cornerstone 2001 will find them playing a bigger stage, one that can hold, not only their massive sound, but also their talent. And labels, let’s hurry up and sign these guys before they drift away into oblivion.
Sadly, drifting away into oblivion is precisely what happened… sort of.
Due to a naming conflict, The People redubbed themselves The Golden Republic, got signed to Astralwerks, released an album and an EP in the mid ’00s, toured with the likes of Sondre Lerche and Nada Surf, and then called it quits in 2007. The members went their separate ways, forming new bands like Jaenki, Outsides, The Republic Tigers, and Soft Reeds while frontman Ben Grimes moved on to a career in TV and filmmaking, earning credits on Baskets, Grey’s Anatomy, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
In the meantime, The Premise Is Sound has languished in obscurity, an unheralded gem that never got a proper release and was heard by practically no one. Indeed, my review is the only one that appears on Google when you search for the album’s title and I’ve been unable to find any clips or uploads on YouTube, which is pretty unusual in 2025.
I’ve been running Opus for nearly 30(!) years now, and during that time, I’ve heard plenty of albums that deserve far more attention than they received. The Premise Is Sound is at the top of that list, an impression further reinforced by my most recent listen. I’d love to see a label like Burnt Toast Vinyl, Lost in Ohio, or Velvet Blue Music give it a new lease on life so it can finally get the appreciation it so richly deserves.