Plaid: Andy Turner (vocals); Ed Handley. Additional personnel includes: Bjork, Mara Carlyle, Leila Arab, Nicolette (vocals); Benet (guitar, violin); Coba (accordion). As 2/3 of the magnificent Black Dog Productions, Ed Handley and Andy Turner heralded an age of lushly melodic electronic songcraft. The acrimonious fission of BDP produced Plaid and revived the dashed hopes of the duo's earlier brilliance. But, with only one (legendarily rare) album, a fistful of aliases and quiet production assignments, and a few singles in recent years, Plaid had the appearance of an elaborate tease. If the gorgeous NOT FOR THREES is any indication, Plaid just didn't want to rush perfection. The album seems to be directed at those who would dismiss electronica as soulless music made "for machines, by machines." Plaid's music is bathed in the liquor of life and suffused with shafts of light. Seamlessly working in overlapped synthesized melodies, delicate live instrumentation, occasional voices, and funky, colorful beats, the album offers a textural tapestry of unparalleled lusciousness. "Kortisin," "Rakimou," and "Lilith" are nothing less than ambrosial. Mara, Benet, Bjork, and Nicolette (the latter two repaying old favors) trill like nectar-mad swallows. "Myopia" and "Ladyburst" go tropical without a whiff of exotica irony and beg to be nibbled at like wedges of juicy papaya. Total sensory inebriation-but please don't eat the CD.

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Plaid: Andy Turner (vocals); Ed Handley. Additional personnel includes: Bjork, Mara Carlyle, Leila Arab, Nicolette (vocals); Benet (guitar, violin); Coba (accordion). As 2/3 of the magnificent Black Dog Productions, Ed Handley and Andy Turner heralded an age of lushly melodic electronic songcraft. The acrimonious fission of BDP produced Plaid and revived the dashed hopes of the duo's earlier brilliance. But, with only one (legendarily rare) album, a fistful of aliases and quiet production assignments, and a few singles in recent years, Plaid had the appearance of an elaborate tease. If the gorgeous NOT FOR THREES is any indication, Plaid just didn't want to rush perfection. The album seems to be directed at those who would dismiss electronica as soulless music made "for machines, by machines." Plaid's music is bathed in the liquor of life and suffused with shafts of light. Seamlessly working in overlapped synthesized melodies, delicate live instrumentation, occasional voices, and funky, colorful beats, the album offers a textural tapestry of unparalleled lusciousness. "Kortisin," "Rakimou," and "Lilith" are nothing less than ambrosial. Mara, Benet, Bjork, and Nicolette (the latter two repaying old favors) trill like nectar-mad swallows. "Myopia" and "Ladyburst" go tropical without a whiff of exotica irony and beg to be nibbled at like wedges of juicy papaya. Total sensory inebriation-but please don't eat the CD.