THURS NOV 7
CRITIC’S PICK: Seefeel
You don’t listen to the music of Seefeel—you submerge yourself in it. Each release by the UK quartet—four full-lengths and a bunch of EPs—is constructed from the usual rock-group elements: guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and vocals. But from those pieces, the group bends and manipulates every sound with delicious indulgence, generating lush, balmy compositions that hang thickly in the air.
In Seefeel’s earliest incarnation, albums like 1993’s Quique and 1995’s Succour fell into an amorphous zone where shoegaze and the earliest blushes of EDM found common cause—the same place where groups like My Bloody Valentine and Curve were planting their flags. Led by core members Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock, Seefeel were, by contrast, much softer and lighter. (Clifford also makes wonderful electronic rackets on his own and in the duo Oto Hiax; Peacock works with the more dance-oriented outfit Scala.) Their immersive, foggy material brought in the influence of dub reggae, Brian Eno’s ambient compositions, and the sleek futurism of Tokyo’s “environmental music” movement.
After a 1996 album, (CH-VOX), recorded for Aphex Twin’s label, tensions within the group split Seefeel apart for the better part of a decade. But an invite to play an anniversary party for Warp Records and a reissue of Quique in ’07 got Clifford and Peacock speaking and collaborating again, bringing in a new rhythm section comprised of former Boredoms members Iida Kazuhisa and bassist Shigeru Ishihara to complete the picture.
The subsequent years have hardened Seefeel’s sound, as evidenced by their 2008 self-titled album. The drum tracks are rigid and spare, and the music surrounding them is glitchy and agitated. It’s a reflection, perhaps, of our anxious modern age, but one that still slots in well with the evolution of their aesthetic as individuals and as a group. (Thurs Nov 7, 9 pm, Star Theater, 13 NW 6th, $25; w/Patricia Wolf, Wild Card) ROBERT HAM