'Classic' &' highly influential' are all descriptions so overused, but in this case id have to agree.
There is a really clean classy minimal spacey/ trippy BUT- ABOVE ALL- TECHNO quality to this album. The bass is seriously sub sonic. Made without being obsessed with 'trying' to be 'hard' or 'fast', these understated tunes are so well crafted and built from beginning to end- always packed with hooks that make it dancable & plant a cheeky grin on your face coz theyre so ruff without being cheesy. These are really 'head gear' tunes., Even now when i listen to Orbital 2 or Aphex amb. 85-92 - they all sound dated to me in comparison. Theyre just isnt the edge that there still is on this album. Granted it still sounds from a past era, but it has that "what the **** is that" quality to it that all good techno shoud have- you know, that dark strange discordant but at the same time beautiful and perfectly arranged quality.
Frequencies is loaded with bleeps & all sorts of quirky effects which do take you back to late 80s early 90s- but it has no naff 'take me higher' wannabe rave anthem tracks. Its slow (v.slow by todays standards), but so totally techno in spirit, so totally British infact, as although it would appeal to those who love that orig. detroit techno sound - or chicago acid house thing- this is still a different sound unique to Britain in early 90s, with a groove you dont even think about following- you just do. Some of these tracks are up there with Joey Beltrams NRG Flash, 808s Pacific, Fast Eddies Acid Thunder etc. but different / slower and more minimal.
There are a couple of tracks in the middle that to me sound a bit weak and dated- but considering the quality & inovativness of the rest- i mean they truly set a standard (how many others managed a whole album of near classics as opposed to the odd 12")- i stand by my rating!
"Pioneers of the hypnotic groove".