Ploy - It's Later Than You Think
When I think of Ploy, what immediately jumps to my mind is a producer who would typically play by his own rules. There was a time when he was famed for bat-shit rhythms and melding them with convulsing sound design within a club-centric sound pallet. Take, for example, his lorded album Unlit Signals from 2021, which had the electronic underground by chokehold. The Bristolian experimented with glitch and bass music, parcelling the result into one of the period's most esoteric yet engaging albums. Unlit Signals was so futuristic for its time and exactly what the hardcore post-dubstep and UK techno crowd were looking for in hindsight. It captured a rawness missing from the stagnating and over-polished sounds of 2021. It reignited some people's passion for underground dance culture. Fast forward four years and Ploy returns with another eight-tracker; it's later than you think.
Right from the first beat of Ploy's, It's Later Than You Think (2025), you'd be forgiven for thinking this may be a naming mix-up or there's a new Ploy on the scene. From the first listen, this latest album is a far cry from the dark underground grooves of yesteryear. The eccentric artist who somehow combined all the electronic genres you love into one banger of an album that was tough enough to appeal to the real heads but still with an underlying dance element seems to be "lost in the sauce", as it were. While that's an astute and fascinating observation, it's later than you think. It's Later Than You Think borrows a lot of tricks from Unlit Signals. Both albums put genre-bending to the forefront while also having the added value of showcasing Ploy's eclectic taste.
Strangely enough, It's Later Than You Think has more in common with the early electronic music pioneers than modern-day productions. It comes across as a blend of Krautrock and Prog House with wandering percussion and locked grooves that build slowly. The first track, 'When In Room,' sees haunting sirens and dubby weirdness take centre stage. At the same time, soulful cries echo in the background and reverberant dubs that trail off into either. Ploy fills the audio spectrum with subtlety and care, and the disco energy is compounded, moving into 'Stringz'. French house-inspired drums keep the party going, but it's not until about three minutes in that the lead finally rears its ugly head, and boy is it ugly. This evocative screeching synth slithers over the beat, having had enough of hiding behind filters and the like, charming audiences into a complete and total frenzy.
Ploy toys with intensity, incorporating classic Carl Craig techno tropes like polyrhythmic bleeps and muted vocals on 'Admirer' while relentlessly upping the ante with instrument layers. The little flourishes of bongos that float out of nowhere add much more depth. 'Terrazzo' flirts with the sounds of Gary Beck and Alan Fitzpatrick to my ears. These late 00s and mid-2010 touchstones capture the vibe of the album. It's that same action-packed, driving bass that doesn't let up, propelling the track forward coupled with softer and more elegant flashes of delicate emotion.
The teetering bass, popular in the 2010s, continues on 'Monsters', flanked by wayward wobbles, adding a garage-house edge. Likewise, 'Sauna' wears its UK tech-house influences as a badge of honour. Heavy kicks buzz over extended rollers, and peppy percussion clatters against rough-and-tumble vocals. The title track, 'It's Later Than You Think', is straight-up festival fuel. It is straightforward and bumping and appeals to the masses. Still, the way Ploy convolutes everything on top is as close to a summation of electronic music as you could get. The track flows through outsider arrangements and unfamiliar sound pallets like no one's business, highlighting Ploy as an archivist and a revivalist.
Although It's Later Than You Think is an outlier in Ploy's discography in terms of sound and spiritually, it draws on similar principles from his earlier work. Taking sounds that may be familiar or conventions that have been done before and reinventing them to make them sound fresh is a technique directly taken from Unlit Signals. You rarely find an artist willing to flip genre to explore different sounds on a whim. You have to give it to Ploy for taking a stab in the dark. There was no guarantee it would come off, especially with underground music fans being as fickle as they are, but I like it. It's a fun, peak-time tech house that takes the old played-out formulas and updates them a little. It is fair to say this won't be for everyone, and not all tracks are killer. Still, I can definitely see these tearing up the day party, especially as we hit peak summertime.
Tracklist:
When in Room
Stringz
Admirer
Terrazza
It's Later Than You Think
Monsters
Sauna
Deleted
Label: Dekmantel (2025)
Ploy - It's Later Than You Think
