Customer Reviews

P-Brane

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

obviously plaid has expected that we know the next move they'll make. this is evident through the release of the p-brane ep, which, if you went to any shows in their recent north american tour, you could have picked up early for 10 bucks.

picture their musical career (in albums, at least) as tiny complete enigmas presented as audio. "not for threes" introduced their style and offered insight into their black dog history. "rest proof clockwork" was their comfort with themselves as musicians, and branching out into newer things. "double figure" is their immersion into what they knew, and fully shows their range. so on closer inspection, anything in between (peel sessions, trainer, and this ep) have only had enough to give us glimpses.

to explain the type of music on the ep would be pointless, as there are multiple interpretations of the tracks. "coat" begins very softly, then breaks (as in glitchy breakbeat) into a multi-chorused hymn-like danceable, while "diddymousedid" has a little bit of elevator music jump in it in the beginning before getting bizarre. you notice in the first two tracks that there are frame-like shifts in the percussion. these are very detailed volume shifts, so you can tell they certainly took their time making these tracks. "stills" is definitely different for them. very electro and very autechre-ish. i'm not sure if they were pushing towards this, but it gets grand towards the end. finally "mfaus" is brilliant and a kick to see them do it live. there's so much percussion to this song it's hard to sit still.

the cd also includes the "eyen" video warp records streams on their site, a decent video and a great song.

so why five stars? i seem kind of indifferent about it, yes, but i am a true plaid fan. if you dig all their stuff, of course you'll have to pick it up. if you're just a beginner, start with "rest proof clockwork" or "double figure". then you can understand.

All of the tracks on this single are great. "Coat" is kind of an experimental tune, similar to some tracks from Double Figure. "Diddymousedid" is a bit of classic Plaid. It sounds like it came off of Restproof Clockwork. Then "Stills" is again like the Double Figure album. It's a nice melody played over dark ambience and a sweet breakbeat. Don't forget the video for "Eyen" is on this too. "Mfaus" alone is worth the price of the CD though. It's probably the most progressive techno song they've ever written. I saw them play "Mfaus" in concert and I was blown away.

So why are you still reading this? Buy it already!

Despite being a short 20 minute listen this lil thing is incredibly diverse. The only other reviewer did a decent job describing the tracks so I wont. If you havent heard Plaid and have any interest in the genre stupidly coined IDM it will do you immense good to buy this. Its worth it for the last track alone. The first time I heard it my dog and I started dancing like fools. And we dont dance often. In fact it was the only time the little fellow ever danced. Yep, little dogs love Plaid too.

Ok, I really mean 4.5 stars, but I couldn't pick that, so I rounded up... The first three songs are fantastic, but the fourth one isn't as good... it's still alright, but nothing compared to the others... that's why I give it 4.5 instead of 5... This is my only Plaid release I own, so here we go...

It starts off with Coat, an excellent little number... The melody that starts the song off has a sort of somber, meloncholy feel to it, and then all of a sudden this sweet ... beat comes in, with this great bass and we're off... The percussion on this one is reminiscient of Autechre, but I think overall stands alone really... later on this weird, tweaked vocal part comes in as part of the beat almost, and then the melody comes in over the percussion... finally towards the end the melody changes and leads to the conclusion of the song, and it ends on an amazing note.

The next song is my favorite... Diddymousedid is playful, beautiful, bitter-sweet, even all out meloncholic if you want it to me... and it's always changing, and new additions are always being made... I think the melody on this one is just simply amazing, and as each different melodic line is added it just gets better and better... oh, and the beat is killer!!!

The third song is call Stills, and this is another fantastic piece... It again has a cool beat, and for the first minute and a half or so it builds on one melodic idea before it suddenly changes into this beautiful building melodic line which continues until towards the end of the song where the percussion is left alone, and the original melody lines comes back in... very nice indeed!!

The fourth track is alright, but the melody and percussion just sound way too lame, and cheap... maybe I'm being a bit hard on this song, but it doesn't do much for me... It's alright, but compared to the other songs, this one is a bummer...

Anyways, three fantastic songs and an alright one out of 4 ain't too bad, so, if you like Aphex Twin's more melodic stuff, Boards of Canada, or Autechre, or electronic music in general and are always open to new music, check this release out!!!

Despite being a short 20 minute listen this lil thing is incredibly diverse. The only other reviewer did a decent job describing the tracks so I wont. If you havent heard Plaid and have any interest in the genre stupidly coined IDM it will do you immense good to buy this. Its worth it for the last track alone. The first time I heard it my dog and I started dancing like fools. And we dont dance often. In fact it was the only time the little fellow ever danced. Yep, little dogs love Plaid too.

I liked Plaid for a while and i started to get kind of bored with their music. That is until i saw them play here in boston when this single came out. It was a spectacular performance, top 5 shows i_have_ever_been_to__'!' upon leaving my roomate picked up the ep on vinyl - the recommended medium for this - and it was played many x and still is. its an absolutely stunning release, and when you get to 'stills' you'll understand release. I recommend the vinyl ep, its 180g and it is better for pairing the songs in two's which i believe helps them compliment each other nicely. so pick this up if your interest in plaid has been waning, or you want to add some terrific songs to your collection. For newbies try not for threes, its got bjork on it!

There are a few amazing tracks on here if you want to give Plaid a try. If you like it, then I recommend Spokes. Previous albums, like Rest Proof Clockwork and Double Figure are good, but a little milder.

For me, the P-BRANE EP delivers on all the promise that Plaid had after their debut album. Subsequent albums didn't have the same luster, but immediately, on "Coat," the complexity and musicality are back. The brightness of "Diddymousedid" also re-injects the sense of whimsy and fun that to some extent had faded from their work. "Stills" is much icier, but with a beautiful, drifting synth line, and the static that starts "Mfaus" quickly resolves into some frenetic digital electro. Plaid should always been this good.

It wasn't till I removed the packaging of this CD that I realized the case was in a terrible state, like someone had literally stomped on it.

NOT HAPPY, NOT IMPRESSED!!! If I could give this a no stars rating, I would.