Plantoid were one of my discoveries from Manchester Psych Fest last year. I started listening to their debut album a fest months before the festival, and it's a record that I've been listening to fairly regularly since then.
They open with 'Modulator', with its tight jazzy rhythms and terrific guitar solos. I don't remember the percussionist from the last time I saw them but he is wonderfully animated. The driving and dynamic 'Pressure' is Plantoid at their best; jazzy prog rock not dissimilar to The Mars Volta. 'Wonder/Wander' starts off with latin rhythms before gradually getting heavier and more challenging before heading into a full on prog wigout and coming out the other side with a fantastically tight 'Insomniac (Don't Worry)'. The rhythm section are fantastic and complement the amazing lead guitarist, Tom Coyne, who has a touch of Carlos Santana about his playing. Another great showing.
It's a low key opening with very little fanfare for White Denim. The band are just setting up with music playing over the house PA when the singer, James Petralli, asks 'shall we start?' and they just start playing. It feels honest and organic and suits them as a band. The opener 'Pretty Green' is a good mix of southern soul and southern rock. They lock into a lovely warm groove which then becomes a jam and all the band look like they're having fun. It doesn't always hit the mark though. The times when they are lighter or funkier are less successful. There are a number of '70s Stevie Wonder touches and some cool, dirty southern rock riffs too. The smooth soul of 'I Still Exist' is pretty good. The terrific 'Bess St.' is shitkicking boogie rock like The Black Crowes channelling ZZ Top. The tightly honed funk rock of 'Double Death' is excellent too. The '70s MOR of 'Backseat Driver' doesn't really hit the mark but it goes straight into the much gnarlier 'Moves On' which is great. This sequence kinda sums them up, a mix of styles with some tracks being much better than others. 'Corsicana Lemonade' features too much choogling for my liking but the talking guitars are cool. 'Crystal Bullets' is closer to '80s Stevie Wonder (which is much less cool than '70s Stevie). A beefy 'At Night In Dreams' is terrific. 'Burnished' has a euphoric 'Loaded' quality, which is quite different to the studio version. White Denim are clearly a talented band who enjoy what they do, and I like the fact that they just plug in and play and give the audience true value for money but after 70 minutes it feels like I've seen enough. Setlist FM tells me that they play 34 songs in total so I'm guessing they played for at least an hour longer but feeling like I've seen all that they have to offer, the prospect of an early night is too enticing.
White Denim ***
Plantoid ****
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