Plans & Apologies - Wirez, Man! (Pandaz Pop)
4/5
By: Charlie Potter
Listen up, because this is a major compliment, a bold statement, and one that I may get pulled up on. Here we go - at times this band can make you feel the same way that Dinosaur Jr. do. There, I've said it. Please don't hold the idea against the band. If you're going to hold someone accountable the suspect is clearly me, myself and I. Charlie. I could analyse it and argue it but that would be like dissecting a rabbit in public - good for the advancement of the race but poor taste to say the least. Give 'Wirez, Man!' a few listens please because it's a really surprising grower. They remind me of the joy of wearing jumpers. Warm ones.
I just put another jumper on.
This is a touching record. Lyrically largely quite nostalgic, there are more than a few songs in which characters the singer used to know and has seen again recently crop up. It's that very particular blast from the past type of nostalgia that makes you reflect on the way they were, the way you were and the way you have grown apart to become what you have, and if that doesn't mean something to you, you are probably developing a weird form of Alzheimer's. The position you're put in from hearing someone else's account of this in close proximity is bizarre but not uncommon. You're left imagining a relatively non descript memory belonging to someone else with a personalised version of the details, which leaves you with a sense of empathy, whilst at the same time you're carrying out self reflection, which I guess is quite a uniting experience. If only the music could hear you.
But if you're thinking that it's all probably dreary nonsense, then NO. See, you've jumped the gun. There are some really nice quirky electronic sounds around the edge of the sound, and some ba baa, ba baa's in the right place that save this album from being boringly self pitying. Not only do these weird noises serve to give a dynamic to the album, they link the tracks together in a 'Dark Side of the Moon' way. It's something that a lot of people have tried and it has sometimes amounted to having a whole bunch of useless rubbish sections, but here it works nicely, especially with the LP being so short that there's no threat that the band are going to try and lose you. Far from it, in fact - they guide you nicely through this wonderful little plate of indie rock with various side orders of electronic beeps and crunches.
Whilst it can at times be too cute in a plinky plonky hey hey kinda way, 'Wirez, Man!' is the sort of recording that's so kind to the listener that one can't help but applaud it.
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