Plaid
Polymer 2LP vinyl

Warp lifers Plaid return with their 10th LP. Polymer is a baker’s dozen of tunes that finds the duo of Ed Handley and Andy Turner showing off all of their tricks. Crafted under the manifesto ‘Polyphony, Pollution and Politics’, Polymer manages to synthesise this trio of concerns into a set of stirring electronic compositions.

Unsurprisingly for a record so heavily concerned with the current socio-political climate, there are times when Polymer can be an intense listen. Quite a few of these tunes feature the sort of wheezy, pensive synth play that crops up in the work of Oneohtrix Point Never. The fact that this is frequently wed to choppy breakbeat techno rhythms (think Clark) only heightens the air of dystopian unease that skulks in the background of the LP.

However, the ‘Polyphony’ that the group lean on here also spawns some gorgeous moments. An entry like ‘Maru’ chains propulsive beats together with some sparkling harmonies in a manner that recalls Modeselektor or Apparat. It is a clouds-parting moment, one where the worries that plague Polymer lift and the listener is swept away by the simple beauty of Plaid’s music. 

NEW / Released in 2019

Tracklist:

A1 Meds Fade

A2 Los

A3 Maru

B1 Ops

B2 Drowned Sea

B3 The Pale Moth

C1 Dancers

C2 Nurula

C3 Recall

D1 All To Get Her

D2 Dust

D3 Crown Shy

D4 Praze