On 12 Sep 1996, "BRIAN ANTONAK" <Brian.D.Antonak@maf.nasa.gov> wrote:
quoted 3 lines Would anyone like to comment on post-"Quique" Seefeel for me. I'm planning >Would anyone like to comment on post-"Quique" Seefeel for me. I'm planning to
>mail-order some discs and I figure either Succour, Starethrough, or Fracture
>should be among them but I don't know which one. All opinions accepted.
You really can't go wrong with any of them. The further away you get from
_Quique_, the more they start sounding like a Warp band.
So:
The "Starethrough" EP is what the "More Like Space" EP would have sounded like
if their early empahsis on guitars had been decentralized. That wonderful
post-MBV feedback whine curling around icy electronics. The BPMs are slow and
utterly blissed-out. Deep dub bass, chilly metallic echoes. Sarah Peacock's
vocal loops sound more unnatural than any electronics you've ever heard! The
title-track is one of the most beautiful things to ever bear the Warp name.
"Spangle" has that trademark Clifford kitchen-sink percussiveness clanging away
over ever-expanding loops of ...well, god only knows what they're using to make
such wonderful sparkling sounds! A must buy, this one.
"Fracture/Tied" made for a rather abrupt change in direction. There isn't a
minute to breathe before the rhythmic assault hits. It's almost tribal in its
intensity, with a hypnotic and coarsly-broken beat which takes the foreground
over a rising (and uncommonly warm) synth wash. People made AFX comparisons, but
this really sounds quite unique. One of my all-time favorite IDM pieces, though
it IS on _Succour_. So you're paying $10 for "Tied," which is worth twice as
much. Sounds like something you'd expect to hear on Language - maybe a bit of
Detroit in there, too. Firmly entrenched in "experimental" ground, without the
slightest nod to the dancefloor.
I'll let someone else take _Succour_. It's godlike - their finest moment under
the Seefeel name. But my fingers are about ready to fall off, as I just
interviewed Stefano from Bio Muse (without the aid of a 2-way recorder) and got
quite a workout trying to keep up with what he was saying. Phenomenal band, Bio
Muse. Anyone who doesn't have _Wrong_ and the _Miscellaneous_ comp. really
should be ashamed.
My $0.02
Gman, too.