Well, they’re back in the saddle. Plaid have a long and respectable history in the electronic music scene. When so-called IDM (intelligent dance music: yeesh) became a genre in the 1990’s, Ed Handley and Andy Turner were two thirds of a collective known as Black Dog, and they became a cornerstone of the Warp roster. The final work before the split was Spanners, a sprawling, imaginative record that showed a balance of skill, imagination, and the talent to hold it all together.
(Ken Downie still records excellent music under the Black Dog moniker.)
As Plaid, they made two exemplary records, the second of which featured a stunning collaboration with Bjork. Double Figure followed in 2001, showing a more disciplined and focused approach. Despite critics generally writing it off, it’s one of my favorites. Their hallmark exuberance, baroque rhythms, and creative harmonic technique were all in top form, even if it was considered a bit austere and “dark.”
After that, one of two things happened. Either they got complacent or the rest of the scene got weird. Autechre released Confield and everything became glitch and abstraction. Plaid continued to do what they do best, but their work began to feel dated and out of step. Whatever the case, Spokes and their subsequent output just didn’t grab me.
So, I was a bit apprehensive when they announced a new record with a squelchy, amelodic lead single.
Turns out, it was something of a red herring. The claims that Polymer is somehow abrasive or dark are vastly overstated. This is still Plaid, just a bit more focused.
We’re back to the “is it me or is it them” question. The new record isn’t all that different from Reachy Prints or the Digging Remedy. The arrangements are a bit more straightforward, the sound palette is just a bit more metallic, and ideas are given more time to develop, but it’s not a major change in style.
So why do I like it more than those records? Perhaps their formula just needed a slight tweak. The hard-edged, repetitive opener “Meds Fade” is still recognizably them, and perhaps it’s the contrast that makes the major-key “Maru” feel so expansive and welcoming. Similarly, the unrelenting and mournful “Drowned Sea” melts into a fractal pizzicato string section, which then leads into the playful woodwinds of “The Pale Moth.” And so it goes. “Dancers” and “Nurula” are classic Plaid, propulsive and gorgeous.
“Dust” is simply a great ballad. “Crown Shy” is almost bubbly synthwave but for their own insistence on throwing odd tricks into the arrangement, and “Praze” closes things out with a waltz of harpsichord and those wonderful processed guitars that featured heavily on their last few records.
Maybe it’s the diversity of material. Maybe it’s the sequencing. Maybe I just got jaded for a few years. Whatever the reason, this is a great record for them, and a must for anyone who likes intricate, melodic electronic music with a sense of playfulness.
It’s out now on Bleep. Buy it.