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CD Review: The Plaid Perspective – ‘Something Simple Out Of Sight’
The Plaid Perspective is a band that have working on their sound for a long time. The band started on this journey in 2004, although they wouldn’t perform live for another five years until 2009. This musical journey has led them to the July 2015 release of their debut album ‘Something Simple Out Of Sight’ and is truly a culmination of years of work.
Over the last 11 years, they have developed a sound all their own, a rock, pop, sometimes folk combination and The Plaid Perspective entertains using the voices of all members at various times, giving the songs a deeper, more enigmatic sound.
This 11 song release opens up with a track called “Click” which has a mysterious sound, with all members singing back-up in a harmony that feels deep and dark with a haunting guitar, while on other songs the band also showcases their peppy side with “Flashlight Tag” in which the guitar and bass are at the forefront and “Sea Beyond”. Both of these tunes are fun pop-influenced songs with a hint of The Tubes.
The title song from the debut album, “Something Simple Out Of Sight” has a beautiful melody with an increasing tempo and more outstanding vocals while utilizing short bursts of up-beat guitar, drums and bass. Most notably is guest musician Joshua Ruiter playing the cello adding more grace to the beautiful song, that addition suits the song and the band well.
The Plaid Perspective appears to have a broad spectrum of styles in which to choose from and are able to seamlessly move from one genre to another easily, even mixing genres occasionally. These talented musicians are very tight and work together wonderfully, interlacing their individual technique and accomplishing a unique sound that is both exciting and neat. The collective harmony, which is a fundamental part of this album, is lovely and particularly prominent on rock song “Gaps In Resolution” . These talented musicians once again assemble their voices together neatly on rock ballad “Drive” which would not be complete without Kristin’s accompaniment and in addition to her beautiful voice she contributes her skills with the keyboard on this collection as well.
This album is praiseworthy and has a great mix of killer instrumentation and beautiful harmonizing to go along with the strong lyrical content. You will definitely not be disappointed.
The Plaid Perspective is:
Matthew Schumacher – Lead Vocals/Guitar
Kristin Welke – Keyboard/Vocals
Jesse Dosher – Guitar/Vocals
Daniel Foster – Bass/Vocals
Brian Oppel – Drums/Vocals
Guest musician Joshua Ruiter on Cello in title track “Something Simple Out Of Sight”
Track list:
1. Click
2. Gaps In Resolution
3. Flashlight Tag
4. Always In The Know
5. Just Answer Me
6. Sea Beyond
7. High Contrast
8. Flying Into Oak Trees
9. The Idea Of A Change
10. Drive
11. Something Simple Out Of Sight
www.theplaidperspective.com
www.facebook.com/theplaidperspective
http://plaidperspective.bandcamp.com
Recorded and mixed by Jesse Dosher and The Plaid Perspective, Seattle and Shoreline WA.
