Excerpt: ….It’s the perfect marriage of Sullivan’s 80’s era Ambient meet Hazeldine neo classical minimal ambient. To top it off it’s mastered by Wil Bolton (Hibernate records artists and the owner of the fine “Time Lapse” album) and comes in a limited edition of 100 copies that are letter pressed on 700gm GF Smith board designed by Ian himself. The release is/was a pre-order available from the Hidden Shoal store with 60 copies being there and the remaining 40 going to Norman Records and Stashed Goods. 2011 has been a very productive year for Antonymes, this being the third release on Hidden Shoal (the others being “The Licence to Interpret Dreams” album and the companion piece “Lost in waves of Light”) as well as the release on Time Released Sound and the quality has been there through all the releases. Quite an achievement.”

TwiceRemoved

Ecerpt: “After being introduced to Jumpel and his brilliant album ‘Europa‘ my invasion of the Hidden Shoal back catalogue has stepped up a gear. Turns out Hidden Shoal are one of those record labels that has the ability to fill an entire weekend with blissful headphone listening, and Slow Dancing Society is just one of the many artists that make-up a superb roster of ambient musicians. Washington based artist Drew Sullivan creates a multitude of different approaches to ambient music. You’ll find post-rock inspired pieces awash with layered and reverberant guitars, light and melody, similar to Robin Guthrie and Winterlight and some deep and immersive ambient pieces stretching over 13 minutes, with every track perfecting the art of emotion, be it blissful and euphoric or slightly melancholic.”

A Strange and Isolated Place

Excerpt: “Sodium gas lights cause less light pollution but cast an orange pall over the urban spaces they most commonly illuminate. They began to be installed, particulary along highways, in the 1970s. Ultimately, this is album is one great big love letter, as almost each track title bears out. ”The Song in Your Eyes” begins as dreamily as expected, pulsing gently before turning downright seductive with a purred female ”everything is alright, we´re together now”. ”Laura´s Dream” conjures a visual rendition of the album´s title – I see a highway interchange, freshly-paved and cross-hatched with overpasses, and I see two dancers taking possession of it long past midnight, staring into each other´s eyes, wrapped in that eerie amber haze, their shadowplay conveyed by Drew Sullivan´s guitar. This guitar is indeed the centrepiece of Under the Sodium Lights, and the Spokane native handles each note distinctly and confidently, saying only as much as need be said, but saying it with authority, creating depth, closeness and distance. It contrasts starkly and perfectly with the ambient fog in which he wraps it. My only gripe is with the crackling which mars the otherwise sweet and sad closer, ”Love is On the Way”. You´ve got to love the humility of the man, who thanks his fans for ”justifying” a fourth album. And the fourth certainly justifies a fifth.”

Sonomu

Excerpt: “Slow Dancing Society is a solo project of Washington based producer and musician, Drew Sullivan. His contemplative, ambient explorations fling you into the heavens, where you remain suspended by his cerebral skein of shimmering notes. Under The Sodium Lights is Sullivan’s fourth full length album for Hidden Shoal, and is a perfect follow up for his 2008 release, Priest Lake Circa ’88 (see Headphone Commute Review andInterview with Drew Sullivan). As I listen, snow falls gently and surrounds me with its quiet aspect as SDS works its way into my cranium, soothing my frayed nerves and restoring the balance. A long silence demarcates the transition between tracks, and just when you long for the musical dream to continue, it floats back. “The delicate interplay between focused melodic details and blurred washes of sound draws the listener into a hypnotised state, where the waking world and the world of sleep cascade in and out of balance.” This slightly somber but always lovely set of compositions continues to sustain me on these cold, wintry days, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the peace of quiet and ambient music.”

Headphone Commute