Plaid are regarded as one of the important acts of the
original electronic scene, either through their work
with Ken Downie as Black
Dog, or as a duo, Ed Handley and Andy Turner having
recorded under a number of aliases, before, during and
after their collaboration with Downie. Their early work,
catalogued on the superb Trainer
album, offered a link between the intricate post-acid
British electronica of the early nineties and the Detroit
dance scene of the same period. Yet, since the pair
broke away from Black
Dog and reformed as Plaid, it becoming their main
project, Handley and Turner took a slightly different
option, working on a regular basis with vocalists and
augmented their electronica with acoustic instrumentation.
The pair also proved to be excellent producers, working
with the likes of Nicolette, for whom their produced
part of the 1996 classic Let No-one Live Rent Free
In Your Head, Björk
or Japanese songstress Coppé.
When Double Figure
was released, we questioned the relevance of Plaid and
their place in the electronic community, eventually
concluding that Andy Turner and Ed Handley were still
capable of producing some interesting music while remaining
accessible. Two and a half years on, the arrival of
Spokes raises once again questions. Announced
as darker than its predecessor and a return to the atmosphere
of early Black Dog
productions, Spokes can’t help but eventually
disappoint somehow. As the vast majority of their contemporaries
continue to explore new realms and pushing boundaries,
Plaid seem to have stalled, failing to make their music
evolve. If it is true that the general mood has more
in common with their early work as Plaid, Balil Tura
or Atypic than with their more recent releases, the
pair seem stuck with the same sonic landscape as on
Rest-proof
Clockwork and Double
Figure, never taking a clear step ahead. The
opening track, Even Spring, lingers for too
long around recurring Plaid themes. The lullaby-esque
intro with its layered vocals gently draws the listener
in before crashing into a whirlwind of sounds typical
of Plaid’s musical approach. This track however
fails to recreate the more elaborate constructions they
had got us used to. The relevance of Crumax Rins
is even more questionable as Handley and Turner offer
a pale parody of themselves. If the first minute of
Upona appears to reinforce this impression,
the underlying complexity of the sonic arrangement and
spasmodic beat construction that subsequently emerge
eventually bring it to life, pushing the melody far
in the background before wiping it out entirely. After
a few uneven compositions, the duo finally appear to
regain full control over their sound on Get What
You Gave, Buns and Quick Emix.
If the rest of the album often appears constrained,
the sense of fun and unpredictability that was inherent
with most Black Dog
and Plaid releases makes a welcome return, if only a
tad late.
Despite their undisputable status on the electronic
scene, this album doesn’t unfortunately bring
anything new to the Plaid equation as the pair relies
far too often on worn out tricks. If Spokes
is likely to please the die-hard fans of the band, it
will unavoidably leave everybody else cold.
2.3/5 |
