Plaid deliver a sense of the supernatural. They almost haemorrhage their magic in front of us, and on this 10th album the duo’s melodic bursts leave almost visible trails in the air.
Their conspiratorial tones on ‘Wallet’ hint at an organic and introspective dimension we aren’t yet meant to glimpse. ‘Slam’ suggests pictures of mechanised floral stamen dancing, while the shattered burble and truculent melodies on ‘Nafovanny’ infer tiny elfish marimba players drunk on codeine cough syrup. It’s all very vivid.
Comfortable in their 20-year career, Andy Turner and Ed Handley have their controls set to ‘cerebral’ and no one cares to intervene. ‘Reachy Prints’ is yet another artful and aerial treasure.
8/10
Words: Matthew Bennett
EXCLUSIVE STREAM: to listen to this album in full, download the Clash app onto your smartphone for free. Click here to select your device.
– – –
– – –
Buy Clash Magazine
Get Clash on your mobile, for free: iPhone / Android
