Richard Mowatt’s ambiguously titled new album for Black Hole reminds us just what a quality trance act Solarstone continues to be. ‘.—‘ will be a nightmare for anyone who doesn’t understand Morse code (that’ll be me!) but I’m assured it actually means ‘One’. The idea behind it is to give some food for thought, so the listener actually thinks about what they are experiencing – and it serves as a good parallel for the music, because Solarstone does make you sit up and listen. The instrumental tracks are tightly structured and packed with sharp edges to the bass and drums that complement the softer textures up top. The atmospheric ‘Eclipse’ works well thanks to nicely judged piano interventions, but when the songs kick in they are deep and meaningful – nowhere more so than ‘I Found You’, where Meredith Call brings in some really nice vocal harmonies. Other vocalists to shine are Alex Karweit, Rabbii and Orkidea, but the tougher instrumental tracks – ‘A State Of Mind’ is one – speak just as loudly. Make sure you listen to this as a whole, rather than eight separate tracks – it forms a perfect circle. Perhaps that’s why it’s called ‘One’!
Ben Hogwood
5 out of 5
SOLARSTONE – .—- (BLACK HOLE RECORDINGS)
