Happy Particles – Under Sleeping Waves
26/01/2012 § Leave a Comment
It’s fitting, really, that an album that came into the world on Christmas Day should be as magical to experience and as incomparably difficult to explain as Under Sleeping Waves. Accompanying vocals and soundscapes akin to the softly-uttered coos of Sigur Rós and Parachutes, Happy Particles create truly vast and icy tones, such as with the silvery ‘Infinite Jet’, or the translucently tender ‘Slowness’. The album’s more tranquil moments feel far from contrived – something that can rarely be said for a great deal of the often vapid ambient music out there – and the diversity of the content is truly refreshing. The gorgeous elegance of ‘Classes in Silence’, an instrumental made up of mellifluous strings, is utterly breathtaking, and racked up next to the deliciously understated ‘Reprise’ creates a portfolio of incomparably rich sounds. Laced in amongst the the mystical otherworldliness that the album is built on are the honeyed falsetto vocals and sweet harmonies that give the album a marvellous touch of Western accessibility.
Frankly, if I could use just one word to sum up Under Sleeping Waves I wouldn’t pick ethereal or ambient despite it being both of those things. No, if I had to pick one word, it would be perfect, because really, that’s exactly what it is. I can think of no other way of explaining the feeling of listening to this album other than to profess that it simply… caresses you into a state of absolute bliss, before rendering you almost paralysed as the thundering enormity of tracks like ‘Empty Circle’ explode into life. Whether it’s counted as a late 2011 or early 2012 release, Under Sleeping Waves is a true contender for the best album of the year, and if you experience just one work of art today, make it this astounding album.
Under Sleeping Waves was released on December 25th 2011, and is available here.
