

Seekae’s final album sees the Australian electronic trio embrace vocals for the first time, bridging the gap between their instrumental earlier work and the subsequent solo career of percussionist/singer Alex Cameron. But beyond Cameron’s moody intonation and often ominous lyrics, Seekae maintains their knack for sliding fluidly (and often quite subtly) between subgenres. Glitching IDM soundscapes bleed into James Blake-style post-dubstep, while ambient and rock gestures hover nearby. Besides documenting their evolution as a live band—including gorgeous orchestral guest parts on tracks like “Further”—The Worry incorporates colorful programming flourishes and moves notably closer to the dance floor on “Test & Recognise” and the title track. “Monster” is especially eerie, combining a quietly ping-ponging beat and a spidery guitar line with Cameron’s lyrics about lurking in the corner of someone’s room, before new blushes of layers arrive to complicate what would otherwise be a skeletal ballad. Seekae thrived alongside PVT and Donny Benét as an outlying favorite in Sydney’s ever-changing indie electronic scene, leaving behind a strong legacy when Cameron parted from bandmates George Nicholas and John Hassell to perfect his seedy soft-rock caricature under his own name. As we hear his voice splinter with digital distortion on the closing “Tais,” it now sounds like an audition for the masks he’d wear in the future.