Rozi Plain's 'Prize' Is Full of Careful Thrills

BY Max MorinPublished Jan 11, 2023

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Some music is worth more than the sum of its parts. Rozi Plain's fifth album strips her synthetic folk style down to its bare essentials, rendered so simply that at times it feels like the record could float away into an ambient haze. But Plain's strong songwriting, lyrics and unresolved love affair with jazzy melodic turns keeps Prize interesting throughout. 

Plain has been making waves in the British scene for over almost fifteen years. A lot has changed in that time, including the explosion of professional-level home studio recording that gets slicker and easier year by year. Plain has changed with the times, going from a strictly folk-inspired sound to incorporating all sorts of genres and textures without ever losing her particular charm. She continues to grow more confident and ambitious, carefully cramming more sounds onto Prize than her 2019's What A Boost. The extra textural elements drift around in the background of Prize like the soundtrack to a Studio Ghibli film. The main attraction, as always, remains Rozi and her voice. 

Music of this kind often relies on the strength of its lyrics, keeping it from becoming too diaphanous to hold attention. Rozi Plain still knows how to say a lot with very little, often falling back into a mercurial, repeated phrase or word layered to great effect. It's probably for the best that a record this subdued doesn't have particularly dense or inscrutable lyrics — that sort of interference might've have killed the vibe Plain is working so hard to achieve. The record's best lyrical moment has to be in "Prove Your Good", where she spells out the album's mantra with a simple call-and-answer refrain. 

The acoustic parts recall the glory days of Bon Iver, while the more electronic numbers like "Painted the Room" dive into all other sorts of influences, calling to mind Legendary UK duo Zero 7, especially when the synth starts to build on itself towards the song's end. Even Portishead isn't a million miles off, though despite the somewhat dated references, Rozi Plain isn't just repeating the past. The quality of her recordings and the way the instruments mesh with the programmed sections speaks to a decidedly modern outlook. 

Music this understated and textural has often been more about vibes than individual songs, but Rozi Plain succeeds on all fronts. Prize never overstays its welcome, doesn't stretch on and on, and feels like it should be listened to all in one go. It doesn't demand so much attention that the listener can't use it as a backdrop to doing something else, though it would be a disservice to allow the record's sneakily dense arrangements to melt into the ether. It allows thoughts to wander and come back. Not every artist can pull off this form of subtle manipulation without turning into elevator music, but Plain can. It's hard to stand out in a quiet, crowded field, but Rozi Plain is a name worth looking out for. 
(Memphis Industries)

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