Annegret Fiedler grew up listening to
the Eurythmics and learning the piano before playing in punk bands as a student, and eventually discovering the club scene and house music. By 2018, she was well established as a DJ and producer, going by the moniker
Perel, and her debut full-length arrived on indie-dance institution DFA.
Hermetica is a slowly boiling cauldron of space disco and new wave influences, with arpeggios slowly creeping in over steady heartbeats and cold, austere vocals appearing like flashes in the night. "Alles" is one of the most successful marriages of
Fiedler's influences, with
Moroder-esque suspense enhanced by
New Order-like bass guitar, and
Fiedler's haunting vocals pushing it over the top. "PMS" is a slow, industrial throb, while "Signum Viridi" is a calm, starry late-night cruise. The album returns to the disco with the straightforward chug of "Myalgia," and brings it all home with the single "Die Dimension," blending divine vocals with one of
Fiedler's most immediately striking rhythms.