Plod - Pillow Talk

Plod's album Pillow Talk is one of those albums that slips through the cracks all too easily. The main thing that prevents most people from enjoying this album is... having never heard of it!
This Swedish duo constructs a highly melodic and pleasant IDM journey that flows seamlessly from track to track, combining to provide a very enjoyable full cd of music. In addition, the composition is excellent and the sounds are richly textured. This release is also hard to find, so grab it if you have the chance. Definitely worth some shelf-space in a serious electronic collection.

Though it's tempting to confuse the Swedish duo Plod with Plaid -- seeing as how they both create stimulating, melodic IDM -- Plod is definitely its own creature, hemming more towards Black Dog-era IDM. The inherent moodiness of "Which Is Stronger - Karate or the Tiger" builds smoothly to the higher-pitched melody towards its end -- evidence of thoughtful songcraft. "Om Man Blas Dom I Nosa Sa Nys Dom" is much more twee, even if I can't decipher the title, and "Hinken" goes straight for gentle and sweet. The initial simplicity of "What Happens to the Hole When the Cheese is Gone" belies its emotional impact, which only grows as the track continues; the same goes for the oddly titled, "That Stench Again? It Must Be Wednesday." The tracks develop carefully: "It Must Be Elva a En Halv" transforms from clean to dense and back again. The final track, "Eucalyptus," glimmers softly and reminds us what a difference two vowels can make.