With Play What's Not There, PWNT created another statement of intention that feels less geared toward shows of drum and stylistic prowess, with which PWNT is clearly endowed, and more toward songwriting and texture. The drums are even more dry, and acoustic guitar as a layering instrument has taken the place of keyboard and synth. Thankfully though, PWNT's love of horns remains. Resultantly, the songs sound older, both in terms of sonics and maturity. The respective descriptions of a "dreamy, hazy sound that feels perfectly aimed for... scorching summer afternoons" created for "transporting listeners onto an inflatable flamingo in a Californian pool" from ComplexUK and Dork Magazine certainly capture the peership that any listener could make between PWNT's Days In The Summer and Toro y Moi's June 2009 and What For? and Tame Impala's Lonerism, but those comparisons simply don't apply as readily for Play What's Not There.
