Plaid Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Hiring a video director for some value-added content at the end of a CD is one thing, but when a techno act co-bills said director for a CD/DVD package, something special must be going on. Bob Jaroc is a Brighton-based "visual engineer" who provided accompanying film for a new Plaid work, first heard in 2004 at a few British festivals and performed in 5.1 Surround Sound. After a few minutes of randomized modem dialing and voices asking "Hello?," Plaid begin the true program with "I Citizen the Loathsome," an aptly cinematic piece that slowly comes together amidst Jaroc visuals involving slowly revolving scenes of British nightlife. (Nightlife of a sort, that is; parked cars and deserted streetscapes, not strobes and sweaty dancers.) Subsequent videos involve yet more urban nightlife, Asian dentistry, entomological Rorschach blots, and for the capstone ("The Return of Super Barrio"), an animated storyline involving a hero of lucha libre (Mexican wrestling). Plaid's accompaniment is more atmospheric and esoteric than the increasing electro bent of Spokes and Double Figure. [Besides videos for each track, the DVD also offers four extra videos, in 5.1 mixes, of older Plaid tracks, including "Assault on Precinct Zero" (from Double Figure) and "Crumax Rins" (from Spokes).] ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Inspired to get back to basics after the release of the Trainer retrospective, Plaid returned in 2001 with an LP of tough machine music, closer to the melancholy beatbox style of their mid-'90s singles than the rangy, dynamic sound of 1999's Rest Proof Clockwork. Except for the cycling guitar-like lines on the opener "Eyen," there aren't many traditional-sounding instruments on Double Figure. Instead, the duo balances precise, simple-yet-subtle percussion programs and heavily evocative techno (both have always been Plaid's strong points), cycling through nearly 20 tracks with several shorter mood-setters -- a series of tracks named "Tak" reminiscent of their work on Black Dog Productions touchstones like Bytes and Spanners. As always, Handley and Turner take great care with their productions, using a continually building style of electronic composition that gradually adds new effects, then even more gradually tweaks those effects for maximum subtlety. Working with the same template that inspired Plaid classics like "Choke and Fly" and "Angry Dolphin," the highlights "Squance" and "Assault on Precinct Zero" are raw rhythm tracks outfitted with moody melodics. The duo also works in more atmospheric territory with "Zamami" and "Light Rain" (the latter's warm, fuzzy tones fit the title perfectly). They may have been overly ambitious to stretch techno into new territory by working in traditional sounds, but Plaid recorded one of their most intricate, rewarding, best albums when they finally looked back to the tracks that first made them legends in the techno community. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
On the surface, Plaid's second full-length charts similar territory as their debut, with the same intriguing mix of old-school flow and electronic programming clout, plus an odd tendency to play with certain synth presets -- steel drums, for instance -- that would make most electronica technicians cringe. True, there's a bit more hip-hop flavor on this one, like the faux turntablism on the excellent tracks "Shackbu" and "Little People." And the novelty angle Plaid have occasionally nodded to in the past is out on two tracks especially: the vocoderized bossa-nova number "New Bass Hippo" and "Dang Spot," the kind of popcorn electronica that harks back to Perrey & Kingsley. When it comes down to it, the technical differences between Rest Proof Clockwork and Plaid's debut Not for Threes are minimal. Still, there's a certain soul to this album that displays the maturing ex-breakdancers progressing even after more than ten years of recording. In fact, two of the most beautiful tracks of Plaid's long career are right here. The first is "Buddy," a yearning downtempo track with echoing effects; the second is "Dead Sea," a beatless piece of glorious synth-strings which evoke past civilization just as achingly as "The Crete That Crete Made" (from Temple of Transparent Balls, the 1993 album by Handley and Turner's former concern, the Black Dog). So, in sum, Rest Proof Clockwork is yet another production masterpiece to file on the shelf with the rest of Plaid's work. The element that puts them far, far ahead of every other beatminer out there is a growing sense of spirit that lets the machines do the singing. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Plaid's second full-length release, Not for Threes, is separated from its predecessor by one of the most celebrated side trips in electronic listening music's brief but broad history. As members of the Black Dog, Ed Handley and Andy Turner (together with Ken Downie) helped set the standard for experimental techno, bringing a daring range of influences together in a space consistently characterized by quality and innovation. As such, great things were expected of Threes, and with a couple exceptions, the pair delivers. Although treading far closer than any Black Dog material ever did to the sort of pop electronica of Plaid's interim work with Björk (who appears here on the gorgeous "Lilith"), Threes is ambitious on different terms, moving from the abused and distorted breaks of "Extork" and "Prague Radio" to a balanced radio-friendliness that never sacrifices ingenuity for ease. A handful of tracks feature vocals throughout, and while the results had the predictable effect of irritating BD purists, they actually work remarkably well (partly because the tracks contain absolutely no trace of compositional compromise). A few of the tracks ("Headspin," "Abla Eedio," the too-brief "Seph") sit easily beside the very best Black Dog. ~ Sean Cooper, All Music Guide
