When
Ed Handley and
Andy Turner left
Black Dog Productions in 1995 to record strictly as
Plaid, they unfortunately jettisoned the sound of their own classic material. The style they embraced was organic but chilly, propulsive but also airy, and more heavily melodic than any other techno act of their time. Four albums later, in 2003,
Plaid released
Spokes amid the self-started hoopla of a return to the classic sound of pre-
BDP-breakup classics like
Mbuki Mvuki and "Scoobs in Columbia." (Ironic, though, that the duo's previous record,
Double Figure, glossed on the old formula as well.) Fans anxious to hear tracks minus the steel drums and overworked melodies won't be completely satisfied with
Spokes; nearly all of this territory has already been plotted with more detail and flair on
Handley and
Turner's first three records. That said, it's a simple matter of deciding which of these retreads have traction anyway and which are so thread-bare they're in danger of dissolving completely. On the plus side, listeners will be able to rely on "Upona" and "Zeal," particularly excellent examples of the ghostly electro that first launched the pair back in 1995. On the other extreme, though, "Cedar City" and "Get What You Gave" are rewrites so blatant they sound as though they've already appeared on at least two
Plaid LPs previously. Worst of all,
Spokes has many more examples of the latter than the former.