The affectionately-coined #UKSWELL scene of furious-yet-feely post-hardcore might well have found its fitting conclusion a few years back, but its effects on the genre’s UK output are definitely still lurking. Clearly influenced by both the aforementioned countrymen and the 80s pioneers of the sound, Plaids nevertheless fuse their frenzied post-hardcore throwbacks with a sense of melody that is often missing from their impassioned contemporaries.
Roaring into life with a whirlwind of high-gain and higher-octane numbers that barely break free of the two-minute mark, it’s a breathtaking opening. But while the untrained ear might be unable to get past the clarity of the group’s influences, behind the straightforward track titles (named simply after the order in which the band have released them) and seemingly impulsive songwriting, ‘Plaids’ is a record that showcases a confidence and experimentalism that suggests the Nottingham quartet are in it for the long haul.
Track six – or, rather, track ‘twenty four’ – is nudged gently into life by an almost jubilantly shimmering, guitar-led intro. It cements itself as a standout at the record’s midpoint, segueing from the jittery, crunching riffs of the earlier tracks into the more pensive ‘twenty five’. From there on out, the record’s flip-side slowly untangles the knots it wove itself into in the preceding ten minutes. More considered than the assault of the opening half, it’s a stylistic change that shows there are far more strings to Plaids’ bow than many who put their name to the genre. Unafraid to toy with convention, they celebrate and build upon their influences rather than mirroring them.
Cramming twelve tracks into just over twenty-five minutes, ‘Plaids’ is a hit-and-run debut that hints at an astronomical future. The swell might be over, but the tide is definitely still rising.
TOM CONNICK