Plaid have been reliable fixtures in “intelligent dance music” since the genre first rose to prominence in the 1990s. Ever since their career-launching debut, 1997's Not for Threes, Andy Turner and Ed Handley have released carefully composed recordings full of warm tones, friendly melodies, and interesting technical sleights of hand; they've often found themselves situated between the genre's mercurial virtuosos (Aphex Twin, Squarepusher) and a legion of hacky glitch engineers.
Their latest, Reachy Prints, is full of new sounds. Handley and Turner are dedicated tech geeks who embody the genre’s commitment to exploring off-label uses of different gear in order to see if it makes any interesting noises. “Nafovanny” possesses an intriguingly detuned lead, while “Tether” generates an edgy atmosphere from a fascinatingly ugly, dissonant synth patch. The arrangements are familiar, though, and the album fits in comfortably with the rest of Plaid's discography, defined by a relaxed-but-peppy energy and well-mannered songs that evolve smoothly with as few shocks as possible. (The exceptions to this rule appeared on 2011's Scintilli, which featured some uncharacteristically aggressive and bumpy tracks and was all the more intriguing for it.)
IDM has always been devoted to challenging approaches to experimentation, so consistency isn’t necessarily a virtue in the genre; while Plaid's latest batch of material should satisfy those who have kept track of the duo's output thus far, it doesn’t push many boundaries. Interestingly, though, the type of electronic music that Plaid makes—melodic enough to be accessible while retaining glitchy qualities—has, over the last twenty years, moved from the very fringes of the pop landscape to a little closer to pop's center. Specifically, Aphex Twin's become a touchstone of sorts for rap producers, and his influence has trickled up to the point where it’s not unusual for chart-placing songs to feature the stuttering rhythms, tweaked-out synthesizers, simulated vinyl brakes, and other various controlled malfunctions that Aphex and, by extension IDM’s known for.
So as the pop world has tilted in a way that’s moved Handley and Turner’s music in a closer vicinity to the mainstream, which suits them better. The qualities that previously constrained their music—specifically, their melodic affability, especially compared to the compellingly malicious vibe their contemporaries give off—now work in their favor, but that also means that as an experimental electronic album, Reachy Prints comes off as milquetoast.
As a pop album, though, it sparkles: the oscillating beat, flickering melodies, and cooly dark atmosphere of opening track “OH” could have fit in nicely on Saint Heron, last year’s Solange-curated compilation of alternative R&B. The pair have worked with vocalists regularly in the past, and “Lilith,” their collaboration with Bjork on Not For Threes, is not only one of the best songs of their early career but one of hers too. If Turner and Handley embraced their poppier tendencies, they could conceivably reach a new level of success—stranger things have happened.
