Scintilli

Plaid's previous two works were soundtracks, one to accompany a feature film (2008's Heaven's Door) and the other a multimedia collaboration with Bob Jaroc (2006's Greedy Baby). Their return to music-making on their own terms after five years isn't the energized affair listeners might expect, though. Their trademarked variety of IDM, which you could call manic-beat/depressive-effects, is in effect and still not sounding much changed from its debut in the late '90s. Here though, they've managed an interesting blend of that style with the free-form structures of film soundtracking, the results of which are intriguing although rarely crucial. Scintilli begins with no beats at all, instead there's ululating wordless vocals over pointillistic keyboards, and next comes a classic Plaid production from the mold. It's only as the album unfolds that further tracks, like the highlight "Unbank," tend more toward a refreshing blend of IDM and film scores.