Song of the Day: “Dozer” by Plantoid

Feb 02, 2026

If you ever felt that progressive rock was beginning to sound a bit too much like a boardroom of chin-beard-stroking enthusiasts debating who plays a smoother 13/8 groove, Portnoy or Harrison, Plantoid’s Flare is here to provide the necessary intervention. This sophomore effort finds the Brighton-based trio—vocalist/guitarist Chloe Spence, guitarist Tom Coyne, and drummer Louis Bradshaw—shaking off the “erratic” label they rightfully earned with their 2024 debut, Terrapath. While their debut felt like a frantic laboratory experiment where jazz, psych, and math-rock were thrown into a blender without a lid, Flare is the sound of a band that has finally decided to stay in the room and cook some new songs with a real recipe to guide them.

The evolution here is tangible. Where Terrapath was built on a “music-first, vocals-as-an-afterthought” philosophy that left Spence trying to navigate complex instrumental mazes, Flare was largely conceived all-at-once during a retreat in a Welsh barn. This shift toward jam-based songwriting and vocal-centric structures has transformed them from technical wizards into actual songwriters. They’ve traded some of the jittery, caffeinated complexity for thicker grooves, sounding less like they’re trying to prove they can play better than you and more like they’re trying to make you feel something… even if that “something” is occasionally a mild case of psychedelic vertigo.

While the album is peppered with gems like the frantic, sub-three-minute “Splatter” and the sprawling closer “Daisy Chains,” the clear champion is “Dozer.” It is the perfect synthesis of the “New Plantoid” atmospheric depth and the “Old Plantoid” technicality. It leans into a heavy, Krautrock-inspired motorik pulse that manages to be hypnotic without becoming a sedative and balances a “funky bastard” of a rhythm with mid-song psychedelic dissolves. Additionally, It showcases Spence’s evolution into a frontwoman whose melodies now drive the bus rather than chasing it down the street.