
Just like the material with which they share their name, Plaid's music has sometimes fallen victim to the vagaries of fashion. Creators of thoughtful, refined electronica for 25 years, the duo of Andy Turner and Ed Handley are classed as making "intelligent dance music" when the taste on the dancefloor can often be for anything but. Yet, just like your lumberjack shirt, Plaid have endured, and their 10th album sticks to the delicate, melodic style they've been refining since they started recording under the name the Black Dog. So there's none of the grinding or grating of dubstep or techno, none of the syncopation of bass music and, indeed, not much of the bass. But tracks such as Hawkmoth and OH pull the listener in with their dreamy harmonies, typifying a style that has infused contemporary pop and R&B, and influenced producers including Hit-Boy and Clams Casino. Not that everything here is of the one stripe: Tether is a bassier exploration under a melancholy veil, and final track Liverpool Street sounds more like Steve Reich than Steve Aoki. All in all, Plaid's not over.
