Moving away from his sometimes-harsh work with
Chrome and under his own name,
Helios Creed's sole album under the name
Dark Matter is straight up old-school space rock in the manner of Teutonic synth masters like
Cluster and
Harmonia and early albums by
Tangerine Dream and
Kraftwerk. Vintage synthesizers, heavily processed guitars, and (minimal) beats -- both organic and machine-made -- predominate on these seven songs, which range from an under-three-minute electronic rendition of the traditional Christmas tune "Carol of the Bells" (which sounds like an outtake from one of
Peter Baumann's '70s solo records) to the 18-minutes-plus title track, which unfolds like a sidelong Krautrock improvisation. The expansive tracks unfold slowly and minimally, adding a strong dose of post-
Eno ambience to the Krautrock-based drones. There's little new or innovative on
Seeing Strange Lights, but fans of the style will appreciate it. ~ Stewart Mason