Plantoid announce new album "FLARE" out 30th January via Bella Union || Share lead single "Dozer" || Announce UK Tour

Brighton trio Plantoid announce their eagerly awaited second album FLARE due out 30th January via Bella Union and available to preorder here. To accompany the announcement Plantoid have shared first single “Dozer”, a track that brilliantly encapsulates the group’s ethos as a whole. Six blistering minutes of labyrinthine math-rock, “Dozer” shifts from frenetic, pulsing riffs to subdued, experimental breakdowns and back again, gleefully throwing out the rulebook while anchoring the album’s listening experience. Watch the video HERE.

Commenting on the track Plantoid say: “Dozer embodies the feeling of trying to find comfort amongst all the noise in the world. It’s about wanting to rest when needed without any feelings of guilt that may accompany that. Inspired by the motorik pulse of 70’s Krautrock. It’s a repetitive groove which twists and turns as it evolves, constricts and contracts.”

Additionally, Plantoid have news of an extensive UK tour for February and March next year including a headline performance at London’s Moth Club. All dates are listed below.

After the runaway success of their debut album Terrapath, which cemented their status as the stewards of the UK’s prog-rock scene, Plantoid have returned with their sophomore release: the enigmatic, arresting, and at times downright catchy FLARE. Staying true to the band's math-rock roots, the album is awash in heavy, reverberated guitar licks, tempo changes, and mind-altering chord progressions—all while expanding Plantoid’s signature sound towards new horizons, like wall-of-sound shoegaze and vocal-forward rock-pop. It does what all second albums do best; retain the core DNA that set its predecessor apart from the fray, yet evolve enough to excite old fans and new listeners alike.  

“While making FLARE, we did knowingly acknowledge that our sound had been very erratic,” explains drummer Louis Bradshaw, who along with vocalist/guitarist Chloe Spence and lead guitarist Tom Coyne make up the nucleus of Plantoid. “We never stayed on anything for too long. Before going into writing this album we wanted to slightly redefine what we were doing—it’s less directly proggy. It strays from that sound a bit, while retaining that character.”

If you’re here for the time changes and jazzy mid-song freakouts, don’t you worry, you’ll still find plenty across the album’s nine sprawling tracks. It’s just that Plantoid have been able to tap into something deeper, more lived-in. With the help of producer/sometimes live member Nathan Ridley, who has helped the band craft their sonic identity since Terrapath, they’ve sought to indulge their groovier side, dissecting their songs further and letting their ingredients properly ferment into something new. “We wanted to sit in the music for a while, make a mood out of it rather than changing it up so quickly,” says Chloe. “We wanted to develop ideas to their fullest extent.”

There was a circumstantial element to this artistic evolution, as well as a creative one. After spending a solid year gigging in support of Terrapath, the band needed time away from the hustle and bustle to properly focus on their next chapter. This refuge came in the form of a writing retreat in Anglesey, Wales, where their label were able to set them up with philosopher/musician Laurie Gane who gave them full use of this converted studio. Under the (actually, quite prog-rock-sounding) Snowdonia mountains, the band were able to fully let loose and reconnect. 

“We were at this beautiful place called Penhesgyn Hall,” says Tom. “We didn’t intend to actually record the album there, but we loved it so much. The sound of the barn was amazing.” It’s in this environment where the majority of the songs on FLARE were conceived, during insular jam sessions that went late into the night. “We’d never really done that as a band before,” explains Chloe.” We ended up writing and tracking pretty much a song a day—we’d have so much material.

On tracks like “The Weaver” and album closer “Daisy Chains”, Chloe’s vocals take centre stage like never before, and making space for Chloe’s vocal experimentations was crucial in bringing the universe of FLARE to life. “When we're writing the music comes quite quick and natural for us, but then it can be like, ‘Shit, are you meant to sing over that?” laughs Tom. “A lot of these new songs were shaped around the vocals, which I think is a key feature to the progression of our sound.”

And progress, clearly, is the name of Plantoid’s game. Not just in terms of progressive rock, but leaning into the urge of always pushing forward, always discovering something new, excavating the layers and layers of stratified sediment between them until only a gleaming, polished stone remains. It’s this dedication to the expansion of their craft that makes them both endlessly fascinating and one of those most intensely imaginative rock bands in the UK today.

Plantoid 2026 UK Tour:

17th February – Birmingham – The Hare and Hounds

18th February – Leeds – Oporto

19th February – Edinburgh – Sneaky Pete’s

20th February – Gateshead – The Central

21st February – Hull – The New Adelphi Club

25th February – Bristol – The Croft

26th February – Cardiff – Clwb Ifor Bach

27th February – Portsmouth – Kola

28th February – Ramsgate – Ramsgate Music Hall

4th March – Dublin – The Grand Social

6th March – Brighton – The Hope and Ruin

7th March – Brighton – Green Door Store

12th March – London – Moth Club

13th March – Norwich – Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom

FLARE artwork and tracklist:

1. Parasite

2. Ultivatum Cultivation

3. The Weaver

4. Dozer

5. Good For You

6. Worn

7. Splatter

8. Slow Moving

9. Daisy Chains