Sol.Hz is Seefeel’s first long-player in 15 years. It finds the founding duo of Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock with their refusal to revisit old ideas intact. None of the pair’s curiosity or experimentation is dampened. They seem to have no interest in nostalgia, as they continue to evolve further and further away from their post-rock and IDM roots. Fizzing, fractured frequencies and searing drones synthesise dark, sinister, cinematic atmospheres. Slithering sound design mixes intermissions of looped alien transmissions. Icy tones suggesting the cold expanse of deep space, while beats resemble the flutter of heart valves.  

On the single, Ever No Way, tiny chimes collide with drums that at the outset appear random. Only to slowly reorganise themselves into a recognisable rhythm, while climbing key changes introduce a sense of urgency. Behind The Scene winds woodwind like whistles around a thumping, tribal timpani. Peacock, throughout, is the ghost in the machine, adding ethereal sighs and serrated ghostly shrieks. 

Everything is built on painstaking, ever so slightly shifting repetition. Treated tones bleeding and blending. Only old fans – folks wanting flashbacks – with the patience to stayed tuned, will receive the payoff. You need to be glued, immersed. For listeners who’ve paid close attention, kept it locked, the reward really comes with AM Flares’ opening arcs. While the grounding familiarity of yesterday’s dub bass-lines are long, long gone, distant echoes of Quique can clearly be heard. Similarly, Falling First is a true treasure. The song’s swells are a sudden, surprising glimpse of unashamed beauty. Its techno serenity riding a slow, stomping, Tom Waits-esque, blues holler pounding, as Peacock soars sublime. Almost operatic and recalling that famous Beloved / Orbital “second summer of love” sample. 

Shaking whatever might be left of retired ravers’ residuals, the nocturnal tumbling, rumbling of Until Now could even be considered a dance number. With broken bleeps, and just a hint of acid, its kick sucks a bass vacuum large enough to move a big room. The short Scrambler then returns to spooky, spectral vapour, as the duo remain committed to a path deconstructing / reconstructing without compromise. 

Seefeel’s Sol.Hz can be ordered directly from Warp.