PLUS seems to meander as much as its predecessor, but its greater focus on rhythm helps it appear to hold together more strongly, and rapt concentration reveals that these pieces are as intricate and thoughtfully crafted as the duo's best work.
PLUS is a more flagrantly weird collection of odds and ends, but perhaps a better microcosm of the flagrantly weird band that is Autechre.
PLUS is certainly a stronger example of Autechre's range than SIGN. This does come at a cost, where the cohesion of their previous album is somewhat lost on this most recent one.
Only two weeks after the much anticipated release of SIGN, and Autechre has surprise dropped a sister album to one of their most concise and well-executed projects in nearly a decade. PLUS is by all means a second helping of similar material to their last, albeit with a much more grimy and heavy presence. Where that album relied heavily on ambience, higher frequency synth textures and well placed empty space to create meditative and subdued tones, PLUS is very much its antithesis. From the very ... read more
AUTECHRE DEEP DIVE #22
With this final Autechre record, at least as of the writing of this review, done and dusted, as usual, I released a list ranking every mainline release from the electronic duo, from worst to best. Feel free to check it out here, and share your opinion, if you’re so inclined: https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/liminal-raptor/list/507687/autechre-discography-ranked/
I find PLUS to be considerably less gratifying as SIGN was, however I don’t think it deserves ... read more
VIDEO REVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPNyTSX78f4
Surprise, it's better than SIGN!
Like how I'm assuming many people felt when they saw Autechre dropped a surprise album two weeks after SIGN's release, I was worried PLUS was going to amount to nothing more than a collection B-side experimentations that didn't quite make the cut for SIGN, but were still decent enough to release for the hardcore fans. That really wouldn't be so bad since SIGN is a pretty good album, but it's not ... read more
well ive officially finished with the albums…
plus is essentially sign but a lot more cold, i dont rlly get how this is one of their lowest rated projects, to me this is pretty standard for autechre… but i guess at is as their last full album it is disappointing
tracks like x4 and marhide are rlly good, the sound on this album is just way more interesting than the watered down inoffensiveness of sign
best tracksπ x4, marhide, tm1 open
worst trackποΈ dekdre scap b
it's funny how divided people are on this as it just sounds like more autechre to me, pretty similar to the elseq styles, but compared to the reception for their other albums it does make sense as this just seems like a more meandering bland version of the tropes they were already pioneering in earlier releases. but I feel like some of elseq was definitely worse than this album, and I'm not sure what differentiates these tracks from the ones on nts sessions, based off of some brief ... read more
AUTECHRE DEEP DIVE #22
With this final Autechre record, at least as of the writing of this review, done and dusted, as usual, I released a list ranking every mainline release from the electronic duo, from worst to best. Feel free to check it out here, and share your opinion, if you’re so inclined: https://www.albumoftheyear.org/user/liminal-raptor/list/507687/autechre-discography-ranked/
I find PLUS to be considerably less gratifying as SIGN was, however I don’t think it deserves ... read more
| 1 | DekDre Scap B 2:46 | 70 |
| 2 | 7FM ic 5:55 | 68 |
| 3 | marhide 3:43 | 79 |
| 4 | ecol4 14:51 | 73 |
| 5 | lux 106 mod 5:06 | 71 |
| 6 | X4 12:21 | 78 |
| 7 | ii.pre esc 4:47 | 69 |
| 8 | esle 0 3:13 | 74 |
| 9 | TM1 open 11:07 | 72 |