“Stolen” is a song built on plenty of gentle experimentation but also balance. The experimentation comes from the way that Plaid Forest blends elements of jazz and psychedelia into an alt-rock soundscape, the balance through the way that each of those elements keeps each other in check. The jazz chords add a level of sophistication, but this is matched by the lysergic rush of the psychedelic sonics that eventually takes over, which in turn are not allowed to get too carried away thanks to the more direct and melodic, alt-rock platform that underpins everything.
But even that is a far too simplistic take on what is happening here. Those jazz textures and rock tones might provide a wonderfully creative ebb and flow to the dynamic, but bend your ear in closer, and you will hear metal edges to the rock urges, a proggy ornateness to the structures, and a sweet blend of dreamscape ambiance which later grow into shoegazing walls of noise, running through everything. Muscle and melody, eloquence and elegance, groove and grace…it’s all in there.
Imagine if The Dandy Warhols reinvented themselves as a jazz outfit with the dearly departed Wes Montgomery leading the band. Okay, that is not a great description, but it underlies how hard it is to put bands like Plaid Forest into words. It’s probably best to buy the single, but isn’t that always the way with the best bands? And by best, I mean most unique bands, experimental and trailblazing.
