If the centuries-long trends of science are anything to go by, then Plaid might just be the mystics of our time with their ability to master it with everything they put out there. Maybe they entered into some sort of Faustian bargain long ago, or maybe they’ve learnt a thing from all those aliens they’ve been hanging out with recently.
The true theme is playfulness
The planets have aligned once again this astronomical event has real-world consequences—a studio release from the treasures that are Plaid, aka Ed Handley and Andy Turner. But this time there’s another planet in the mix and it goes by the name of Falorx. Somehow the duo have found themselves at a festival called Feorm and thus Feorm Falorx is thrust upon us—a glimpse into the barely perceivable happenings they may have chanced upon there.
The past few months have been quite the tease. Given it had been pretty much three years since Polymer I think a lot of people felt it in their bones that something would be coming, and in February we had the first hints of new material with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The announcement was accompanied by “C.A.,” reminiscent of prior work with physical modeling, soon drifting into a complex and evolving track and soon after “Perspex,” a true gift that allowed me to re-experience many of the best bits of the Spokes-era in a short time. Now we have all of the in-between pieces and it’s certainly a departure, especially for those that were expecting more of the style and direction that Polymer and The Digging Remedy had started to take us in.
Gone is the orchestra of “Cwtchr” from the BBC performance, it’s a wholly electronic piece but it doesn’t disappoint, structures and emotions well-rehearsed in their soundtrack works truly painting a narrative picture. Although on a constant repeat for several weeks, “C.A.” still manages to surprise me with its placement within the album, all of its parts falling into place in the last-third and naturally so as if they were there all along.
Collaboration is once again a strong point ::
The tracks are shorter, overall less hectic, and the true theme of this for me is playfulness. Unmistakably they have pioneered at many points in the last 30 years but Feorm Falorx just allows us to let our hair down and stop worrying about the next big thing.
“Modenet” and “Wondergan” especially take us back to simpler times, the joy of being in a crowd and just enjoying ourselves—the latter especially laying down the funk for the rabble. They ooze a festive feeling, the wonder of not giving a care in the world.
Collaboration is once again a strong point, not only with the fantastic addition of Mason Bee and the urgency of “Nightstalker” but the accompanying visual displays of the packaging and associated graphic novel illustrated beautifully by Emma Catnip.
The ghostly cover of the media is just the beginning—the hypnotic and dream-like decorations of the book are a great way to experience the sights that so often have co-existed with the sounds of Plaid. Not everyone gets to see a live performance and from their works with Bob Jaroc to the more physical Felix’s Machines, this opportunity is a welcome addition.
“Return To Return” is a masterpiece. Exotic-percussion, hints of gamelan, cyclic melodies and coinciding bass give a true grounding to the release, albeit a short one that I wish would go on for much longer. The almost-clumsy sway and stabs of “Tomason” setting us up for the darker conclusion that is “Wide I’s.”
I welcome the reappearance of what is a common theme with Plaid—goosebumps. Technically-termed frisson, it’s long-since been studied but still vastly misunderstood. If the centuries-long trends of science are anything to go by, then Plaid might just be the mystics of our time with their ability to master it with everything they put out there. Maybe they entered into some sort of Faustian bargain long ago, or maybe they’ve learnt a thing from all those aliens they’ve been hanging out with recently.
Overall this isn’t what I was expecting, maybe the talk of light beings and outer-worldly encounters were setting me up for something that maybe I needed a few more years to comprehend—but I’m not disappointed at all.
Ed and Andy are just showing us that they can do whatever they want to and if we just sat back and took a moment to think about it, maybe we would realize it’s just what we need in current chaotic times.
Feorm Falorx is available on Warp. [Site | Bandcamp]
