Plank! -  Animalism

Cutting through the also-rans of progressive rock, drone and krautrock, Manchester’s Plank! have honed their sound down to a pocket arsenal of tracks on debut LP Animalism. Live favourite and hangover from their first EP ‘La Luna’ remains, complete with stunningly catchy legato lead, while tracks like opener ‘Dying For Pigs’ and ‘Self Harm’ flesh out their sound further for the first-time listener.

Whether or not it’s true that there’s an increasing trend towards instrumental music in the leftfield, Plank! go to great lengths to welcome in the more casual listener. Guitars and synths take the place of vocal lines and the tracks are left relatively uncluttered so as to afford greater clarity. As such, though they may share little in common sonically, one might fairly lump them in the same camp as a band like And So I Watch You From Afar: instrumental yes, but also wonderfully melodic and – dare I say it – maybe even a little catchy too.