Slow Dancing Society – Under The Sodium Lights

After listening to the seven heavenly tracks on Under The Sodium Lights, the fourth album from Slow Dancing Society, it’s obvious that Spokane, Washington’s Drew Sullivan has partaken of the kool-aid served from the punchbowl of ambient deities Brian Eno and Stars Of The Lid.

Sullivan (a.k.a. Slow Dancing Society) uses soft layers of washed-out synth tones and silky, echoing guitar strums to create lush and soothing ambient soundscapes. Depth and texture are added with backward tones, found sounds and hushed bells (and even the occasional whispered vocal) that float gently through the incandescent atmosphere.

Other than allowing the artist to conjure up seven titles or to provide the listener with opportunities to shift gears through the various levels of consciousness and hypnotic states the music induces, there is little need for separate tracks, as the vapor trails of one lead into the calming ripples of another.

Like the glow of sunlight filtered through the slowly undulating waves of blue crystalline water, Under The Sodium Lights is less an auditory adventure and more a rich and imaginative musical daydream. Kudos to Hidden Shoal Recordings for releasing effervescent and captivating music that defies genre labels.

Recommended If You Like (RIYL): Brian Eno, Stars Of The Lid, Manual, and Wes Willenbring