Berlin resident Call Super’s debut LP Suzi Ecto begins in a not dissimilar way to ‘Tubular Bells’, with the delicately creeping melody and rather uncomfortable atmosphere of ‘Snipe’. You’re on edge. You look behind you. Back again. Then, out of nowhere, the album proper starts with the uncannily joyful, cloud-like synth tune ‘Dovetail’. The record is thus cast in a shade neither light nor dark, but somewhere in-between. It’s purgatorial, but never has limbo been so enjoyable.

Hazy, stoner vibes reign for large swathes, enveloping the listener sometimes to the point of claustrophobia – after all, no joint comes without a dash of paranoia, like during the glitchy, oceanic noise of ‘Hoax Eye’ (the only track with a blatant house beat). It’s these moments that make the record redolent of the intelligent, ambient techno artists on Warp in the 90s, defined by soft synth sounds with a touch of psych.

The comparison to ‘Tubular Bells’ still stands. It is this wilful entry into an alien realm that you make every time you watch a horror film like The Exorcist (N.B. Suzi Ecto is far from being a classic in electronica as The Exorcist is in film). At times, you aren’t really sure if you want to be doing this. What is the point? Is this freaky electronic soundscape what I need right now? Your question is answered later that week when you won’t be able to resist another listen.

It is unlikely that you will hear these tunes in the club unless they’re treated to a remix, but this does not mean you won’t be moved. In fact, less ‘move’ and more ‘writhe’. This album comes from an oscillating, if not troubled mind, beset with a wonderful paranoia that makes it a truly thrilling listen.

Suzi Ecto is out on Houndstooth on 15th September.

Oliver Walkden