Taken from a wide-ranging series of home recordings done at the same time the band was working on Last Supper, Well Laid Plans finds the Spiny Anteaters happily trying out a variety of warm and winning songs and styles, blending psych and shoegaze touches throughout to create a hour’s worth of good listening. There’s a great start in the shape of the appropriately titled “Sun Rise” — it feels just like the titular event, a slow-building surge of sonic fire, a jam session that could go on forever as newer guitar parts get introduced in a beautiful glaze. From there, Well Laid Plans spins out with both short and long tracks, incorporating everything from tuned woodblocks to straightforward acoustic guitar strums. Some numbers are quick industrial collages or use seemingly random samples, as with “1967 Dust Bunny”; in one case elsewhere, there’s almost what sounds like someone stumbling down the stairs. Low-key self-referentiality crops up here and there — thus “A Little Something,” a song about recording for people to enjoy, with a fun little synth line mixed into the easygoing zoneout of the music. “We Kicked Back” is probably the most on-target song title of them all, but even when relaxing, the Spiny Anteaters don’t lose their creativity or focus. Other worthy moments pop up throughout, like the wonderful one-two of the gentle rhythm box-led “Count on Your Absence” melting into the almost Cure-like summery-but-sad “Circle of Sound” or the almost sprightly keyboards on the very low-key “Sailor Nation.” Bonus points — the near-wordless cartoon story featured in the artwork about a superhero looking for good music and how his equally heroic dog saves the day by flying up to heaven and recording an album on a cloud. – Ned Raggett
more »