''Succour'' is the second studio album by British band

Seefeel Seefeel are a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford (guitar, programming), Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher (drums, programming), and Sarah Peacock (vocals, guitar). Their work became known for fu ...

. It was released on 20 March 1995 on

Warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

and did not receive a release in the United States.

Background

After the release of '' Quique'', Seefeel left

Too Pure Records Too Pure was a London-based independent record label formed in 1990 by Richard Roberts and Paul Cox. The label gained prominence after the release of PJ Harvey's debut album '' Dry'' in 1992, and subsequently found further success in the la ...

and signed to the more

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

-oriented

, where they released the EP ''Starethrough'' and were included on Warp's compilation album ''

Artificial Intelligence II ''Artificial Intelligence II'' is a compilation album released via Warp on 30 May 1994. It is the eighth and final release in Warp's ''Artificial Intelligence'' series. It peaked at number 16 on the UK Compilation Chart. Critical reception John B ...

'' in 1994. Seefeel followed these releases with ''Succour'' in 1995.

Philip Sherburne Philip Sherburne is an American journalist, musician and DJ based in Barcelona. He coined the term "Microhouse" (in a 2001 article for ''The Wire'')Cox, Christoph; Daniel Warner (Eds.) (2004). ''Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music''. Continuu ...

of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' contrasted ''Succour'' with the band's previous album ''Quique'', noting that while ''Quique'' contained stylistic traits of

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

and

ambient dub Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

, ''Succour'' appeared to be more influenced by the likes of

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

. Sherburne cited the drum programming on "Fracture" and "Vex" as coming "straight out of

phex Twin's Phex is a peer-to-peer file sharing client for the gnutella network, released under the terms of the GNU General Public License, so Phex is free software. Phex is based on Java SE 5.0 or later. Features Phex supports most of the recent feature ...

playbook", while also comparing the beatless tracks "Meol" and "Utreat" to his 1994 album ''

Selected Ambient Works Volume II ''Selected Ambient Works Volume II'' is the second studio album by Aphex Twin, the pseudonym of British electronic musician Richard D. James. It was released by Warp in March 1994. Billed as a follow-up to James' debut ''Selected Ambient Works 8 ...

''.

Release

Prior to the album's release, a single for the track "Fracture" was released on 26 September 1994. ''Succour'' was released on 25 March 1995 by Warp. It was released on compact disc, cassette and vinyl. The album was met with a lukewarm response and was ultimately not released in the United States, factors which contributed to a temporary breakup of the band in 1996. Mark Clifford focused on his side-project

Disjecta Oregon Center for Contemporary Art (also known as Oregon Contemporary, formerly Disjecta) is an art center in Portland, Oregon. It is home to the Portland Biennial since 2010, continuing in the tradition of the Portland Art Museum's ended Oregon Bie ...

while Peacock, Fletcher, and Seymour joined

Mark Van Hoen Mark Van Hoen (born September 1966, Croydon, London, England) is an English electronic music artist. He has created music under his own name as well as Locust, and Autocreation. Pitchfork said, "Musically, Van Hoen belongs to a distinguished fa ...

for his group Scala. ''Succour (Redux)'' was released on 14 May 2021, containing 12 previously unreleased tracks including alternate versions of "Meol" and "Rupt".

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described ''Succour'' as "something of a disappointment" and noted that "the LP was a bit too skeletal for most rock critics or music fans". A review by Glenn Swan for AllMusic opined that "there are a couple rough spots, as eefeelwere supposedly having band problems at the time." ''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 band'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". ''

'' praised ''Succour'' in 2017, placing it at number 30 on its list of "The 50 Best IDM Albums of All Time". In its accompanying write-up, critic

declared it "a singular album that has no equivalent—a sound so elemental, it's no wonder the Designers Republic chose the cover they did." In 2021, ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

''s Piers Martin wrote that Seefeel's music, which he described as "a claustrophobic blend of dub,

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

and new-world explorers Aphex Twin and

Autechre Autechre () is an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of Au ...

", "made most sense on ''Succour''".

Track listing

Credits

Credits adapted from ''Succour'' compact disc sleeve. *

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

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 albums Seefeel albums Warp (record label) albums