Album Review: Sleeping at Last - Darkness EP

One of the most incredible moments I've been fortunate enough to experience was during a trip to Maui. A simple drive across the island one night was one that inevitably changed my life. I had never seen the sky look like that before. It was desolate, no lights for miles and when I say there were more stars in the sky than empty black space, I mean it. The truth is, there are no words powerful enough to describe the phenomenon. Nothing will do justice to how limitless I felt looking up at that glowing canopy. It was like feeling both infinite and minuscule at the same time.

Listening to Sleeping At Last's EP, Darkness, is like looking up at that eternal night sky. Those feelings of wonder and indescribable beauty rush through every note. Within the very first minute of listening to "Uneven Odds," the EPs closer, I knew I had found something special.

I was immediately lost in it. Vast, spiritual undertones exposed by whimsical notes and dense layers, make you feel as infinite as the music swirling around you. I listened to it for the first time in the dark with my eyes closed, as sole member of the indie rock band, Ryan O'Neal, recommended.

Darkness explores several interpretations of it's theme, guiding it's audience through elements of the unknown, loss, blindness, and sorrow, but transcending with more optimistic glimpses of hope, and a surprising overall feeling of warmth. The opening track "Overture" fittingly begins with subtle acoustics accompanied only by Ryan's sweet, yet declarative vocals. He pronounces, "The universe began with our eyes closed," before ascending into a joyful swirl of notes and soundscapes, and eventually settling back to an acoustic fade. "I'll Keep You Safe" takes an airy, delicate approach that sweeps you away with a Waltz-like breeze of layered piano riffs and strings.

The momentum continues to build over the course of the EP, culminating with the fifth and final song, "Uneven Odds." The powerful symphony of strings is accompanied by emotionally vivid lyrics depicting a story of sorrow mixed with strength. The very last line perfectly epitomizes the bittersweet conclusion discovered along the journey, "darkness exists to make light truly count."

One of the best things about Darkness is that it's part of an ongoing series entitled Atlas. The innovative project focuses on the "origins, emergence and experiences of life," in which Ryan has promised to release 6 EPs, totaling 28 songs, throughout the rest of the year. Even more intriguing is that Atlas is ongoing, with no end date in sight and endless possibilities. Apparently the first three years (that’s right THREE) have already been thematically mapped out, so there’s much more to come!

The debut of Darkness has set the bar high and I cannot wait for the second volume to be released. One of the most ironic things is that Ryan wrote the majority of the upcoming EP, Light, while on vacation in Maui! Coincidence? I think not... A definite date has not yet been announced, but he is keeping fans fully informed, updating us on an almost daily basis. Until then, I'll just continue to play Darkness on repeat to get my full on fix of this exquisite beauty. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!