New Zealand's seht (AKA Stephen Clover) is one of the most underappreciated artists from the region. Over the course of numers releases, he's shown how simplicity can often be the most mind-expanding drug around. On this recent CD from Campbell Kneale's Celebrate Psi-Phenomenon imprint, Clover uses his talents to explore the glacial regions of ambient music. "Application Antarctica Download Form" teases the listener by initially convincing you that this is music that exists in the background, but after a few minutes you will find it completely infecting every part of your body.

"Applicatoin Antarctica Download Form" follows in the footsteps of Eno's "Music For Airports." However, if the intention here is for seht to be played in the background, Clover has failed. With it's haunting surface tones, one can't help but be drawn into the album's haze. seht's music is truly subliminal.

From the opening hum of "Skin" to the trance-like finality of "Antarctica Download," the entire album works to ease you down into the boiling water. Well, almost. Where Clover shows his real mastery is on the second track, "Phone Order." At first it seems out of place with it's breakbeat-style drum loops. It's a total glitched-out affair. But somehow, in the scheme of the entire album it works. "Application Antarctica Download Form" pretends to play out some perfected sequence, but "Phone Order" acts as a kink in the chain. It adds an element of chaos to the overall austerity of the rest of the album.

However, the three-part "Despoiler" piece is what makes this record great. This three-part suite is simple and effective. The first part bounces off the inside of your skull like a ping-pong ball moving at lightspeed. It's hypnotic and sets the mood and pace perfectly for the final two parts. Clover weaves a web of music here that is truly subliminal. Part two progresses and slows things down, keeping the hum in a low frequency range. It pulsates like a glowing orb, empty of empty of everything but the purest essence of matter. It is the bare essentials, aurally defined. By the time the third, and shortest, piece of the trilogy comes in, a rattling disturbance is visible. This is the sound of distraction. Clover is trying to keep the meditative tones in context by allowing something ancillary into the mix. There is so much happening below the surface in the space of 14 minutes that is "Despoiler," that it's daunting and overwhelming. But it defines this album.

seht continues to impress on this outing, which is the perfect complement to his other recent CD-R on the same imprint ("Communion Longplayer"). Through all of Stephen Clover's musical journeys, one thing remains constant: that is that there is something cerebral, some attempt to find deeper meaning in the tones of the earth. This is the best piece of ambient music I've heard in a while. Recommended. 8/10 -- Brad Rose (15 June, 2005)