After sitting around in limbo for a couple of years, indie rock darlings Wheat have finally released their fourth album, and first on major label Columbia. What has transpired on this new album I must admit has me at quite of a loss. Gone is the shoegazing rock that past album Hope and Adams brought to the table, and in itís place is a sound so dead set on radio airplay itís almost too sugary sweet for digestion. Opening track ìI Met a Girlî and upbeat rocker Can't Wash It Offî are great numbers, but the rest of the album feels too overproduced. Itís strange that theyíve taken this unexpected approach, especially since one of my all time favorite producers Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Delgados) is at the helm. Instead of giving this album the balls it deserves, Fridmann has probably put in his most understated work by far. It feels like with Per Second, Wheat are trying to attract the Jason Mraz, Better Than Ezra population of music listeners, and ironically with a name like Wheat, the band have come up with an album that is terribly banal.