Succour (album)

Succour
Studio album by Seefeel
Released 20 March 1995
Genre Intelligent dance music[1]
Length 61:47
Label Warp
Producer Seefeel
Seefeel chronology
Starethrough
(1994)Starethrough1994		 Succour
(1995)		 (CH-VOX)
(1996)(CH-VOX)1996

Succour is the second studio album by British band Seefeel. It was released on 20 March 1995 on Warp and did not receive a release in the United States. Pitchfork Media praised the album in 2017, placing it on their "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time" list.

Background

After the release of Quique, Seefeel left Too Pure Records and signed to the more electronic music oriented Warp where they released the EP Starethrough and included on Warp's compilation album Artificial Intelligence II in 1994.[2][3] Seefeel followed these releases with Succour in 1995.[2][4]

Style

Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork contrasted Succour with the group's previous album Quique, noting that while Quique contained stylistic traits of shoegaze and ambient dub, Succour appeared to be more influenced by the likes of Aphex Twin.[1] Sherburne cited the drum programming on "Fracture" and "Vex" as coming "straight out of [Aphex Twin's] playbook", while also comparing the beatless tracks "Meol" and "Utreat" to his 1994 album Selected Ambient Works Volume II.[1]

Release

Prior to the album's release, a single for the track "Fracture" was released on 26 September 1994.[5] Succour was released on 25 March 1995 by Warp.[4] It was released on compact disc, cassette, vinyl and as a digital download.[4] The album was not released in the United States and led to a temporary breakup of the group in 1996.[6] Mark Clifford focused on his side-project Disjecta while Peacock, Fletcher, and Seymour joined Mark Van Hoen for his group Scala.[6]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Select3/5[8]

AllMusic described the album as "something of a disappointment" and noted that "the LP was a bit too skeletal for most rock critics or music fans".[6] A review by Glenn Swan for AllMusic opined that "there are a couple rough spots, as [Seefeel] were supposedly having band problems at the time."[7] Succour received a mixed review from Select, whose critic Gareth Grundy felt that while tracks like "Fracture", "Vex", "Meol" and "Succour" are "clearly the product of deeper research" and showcased a distinct musical identity, the group's "voice is not quite their own yet", opining that "awestruck poor relations of μ-Ziq and Aphex's junkyard clang – especially "Cut" – are uncomfortably prominent".[8]

Pitchfork praised the album in 2017, placing it on their "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time" list.[1] Their review declared it a "a singular album that has no equivalent—a sound so elemental, it’s no wonder the Designers Republic chose the cover they did."[1]

Track listing

All tracks written by Mark Clifford[9] except where otherwise noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Meol" 5:51
2."Extract"Clifford, Sarah Peacock7:28
3."When Face Was Face"Clifford, Justin Fletcher, Peacock6:03
4."Fracture"Clifford, Fletcher, Peacock, Daren Seymour5:52
5."Gatha" 6:00
6."Ruby-Ha"Clifford, Peacock6:08
7."Rupt" 6:29
8."Vex" 4:25
9."Cut"Clifford, Peacock5:40
10."Utreat"  
11."[untitled]"  

Credits

Credits adapted from Succour compact disc sleeve.[9]

  • Seefeel – producer
  • Mark Clifford – mixing, arrangements
  • Geoff Pesche – mastering
  • Francis Arkwright – digital editing

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Sherburne, Philip (24 January 2017). "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 Segal, Dave (2013). "From '93 to infinity". Quique (Media notes). Seefeel. Modern Classics Recordings. MR-021 / MCR 906.
  3. ↑ "Seefeel:Starethrough". Warp. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Seefeel:Succour". Warp. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Seefeel:Fracture/Tied". Warp. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Bush, John. "Seefeel – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 Swan, Glenn. "Succour – Seefeel". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  8. 1 2 Grundy, Gareth (May 1995). "Seefeel: Succour". Select (59): 100.
  9. 1 2 Succour (Inside sleeve). Seefeel. Warp. 1995. WARPCD28.
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