"Another outstanding hybrid of electronica and ambient rock from one from the best modern exponents of a style that some also might call (ahem) shoegaze or (cough) post-rock. This is American composer Drew Sullivan's sixth release as Slow Dancing Society, once again coming to us from Australian-based indie label Hidden Shoal Recordings. I've been a fan of his beautiful melancholy since his debut album The Sound Of Lights When Dim (2006). Not content to just create a chilled-out mood - which he does very well - his best music also tugs on an emotional level with remarkable depth.

The Cogent Sea is 12 carefully structured miniatures, ranging from muted, somber washes of synthetic sound to fully arranged rock instrumentals that are very slow and very beautiful. While Sullivan's personal sound is still very much in evidence, it's great to hear the artist still nudging ahead with fresh ideas. The muted fast-spinning pulses on "Congency" and "Rising Dark; the morphing, ricocheting loops on "Come The Morning Light"; these sound like new elements in his music. Of course there's still lots of electric guitar - whether muted, shimmering chords or piercing, reverberating solos. And the wide variety of synthesised tones and strings is still used sparingly. With Slow Dancing Society less is more, space has meaning, and silence is golden.

Slow Dancing Society averages one album every two years nowadays, which makes him a good deal less prolific than some of his contemporaries in this age of digital downloads and self-releasing. So let's celebrate quality over quantity, because The Cogent Sea stands easily alongside his best work. It's not a bad introduction either, though Under The Sodium Lights (2010) or his debut album would make equally good choices."

<strong>- <a title="Ambient Music Guide" href="http://www.ambientmusicguide.com/pages/features/bestOf2014.php" target="_blank">Ambient Music Guide</a>
</strong>