Band: Plantoid | Album: Flare | Genre: Progressive rock, Psychedelic rock | Year: 2026
From: Brighton, UK | Label: Bella Union
For fans of: Pink Floyd, Diagonal, Kate Bush
Brighton’s Plaintoid are black with their sophomore album, Flare, two years after their debut. The band maintained their lush, jazzy air while also imbuing their sound with a bit more muscle. On repeated listens of Terrapath, at times I do wish the band had a bit more contrast in their sound. Here, they’ve successfully added a bit more while also maintaining their unique character.
Flare kicks off with a crunchy, wonky, stomping riff on “Parasite”. This is significantly heavier than anything on Terrapath, and it’s great to hear them switch their sound up. While I like Terrapath, my main critique of it after repeated listens is that the band leaned on laid-back jazziness an awful lot and did not often amp up the intensity. The verses on this cut are dreamy and smooth, and I love the juxtaposition with the harder-hitting passages.
“Ultivatum Cultivation” has a steady, rolling groove to it. Pop elements are woven into the vocal melody, but there’s something slightly-askew with the instrumental backing that I love. As the song progresses, it becomes more and more astral, with echoing guitars eventually slicing across the soundscape. Angular math rock touches emerge in this song’s final moments, and it adds a wonderful, grounded contrast with the rest of the piece.
Things slow down on “The Weaver”, with a relatively stripped-back arrangement and some light tropicalia vibes. Near the end, some oddball jazzy chords start cropping up for some nice variety. In contrast, “Dozer” is tight and tense with an odd-meter main riff. Synthesizers bubble beneath the surface, lending some airy post-punk vibes to passages. The second half devolves into some rather loose moments where things barely hold together, but focus comes storming back for a powerful climax.
“Good for You” has a light and gentle opening, and the mood remains in that realm for most of this song’s runtime. It’s got some lovely texture and atmosphere, but it lingers longer than is necessary. “Worn” is one of the shorter songs on the album, but it’s fantastic. The atmosphere is rich and enveloping, with flute making a lovely guest appearance.
“Splatter” is high-energy psychedelia with impactful guitar and wiry, nimble riffs. There’s some similarity to King Gizzard here, if they toned the fuzz down significantly.
On the aptly-titled “Slow Moving”, the music floats along. Guitars are airy, vocals are delicate, and the percussion is deliberate. Kate Bush’s influence is evident.
The album concludes with its longest song, “Daisy Chains”. As elsewhere on Flare, the mood is restrained and somewhat mysterious. Jazz and psychedelia mingle to create a hazy, otherworldly aura. The song’s second half focuses on an extended buildup, which reminds me of a chilled-out version of “Cygnus…Vismund Cygnus”.
Flare is a solid step up over Plaintoid’s already-enjoyable debut. The blending of prog, psych, jazz, and pop is seamless and natural. The band easily shifts between moods, textures, and time signatures, and it all gels into a solid release.
Score: 82/100
The Elite Extremophile 