PLAID SPOKES ALBUM WARP RELEASE: NOVEMBER 4, 2003 REVIEW: NOVEMBER 5, 2003

The members of Plaid, Ed Handley and Andy Turner still operate in the same timeless, autonomous zone of electronica they have been inhabitating since they left Black Dog Productions. Their music appears not to have been exposed to the trends in contemporary music, remaining a listener friendly, pleasant version of Warp bands with more chewing resistance.
Breaking away from the melancholic and heartrending tradition of the previous album "Double Figure", "Spokes" is a restless piece of work, starting somberly with the mournful crooning of Luca Santucci. Soon however, this atmosphere gets hacked to pieces by impatient beats speeding away toward an anxious melody hovering nearby. These two elements, quiet afterthought and brisk action, are interspersed through the album to a disparate effect. The trademark ringing, tingling, wondrous synthesizer sounds of Plaid have the rare ability to conjure up pictures in my mind - castles of ice, huge underground caves, that sort of thing - but unlike "Double Figure", "Spokes" lacks the concentration to really pull off the trick. The album works wonderfully as background music, but I have learned to expect more from Plaid.

MATTIAS HUSS