Reviewed by Stella Redburn

It's so refreshing to get a CD to review which is different from the usual CCM. If you've not come across them before, Hong Kong-based Anita and Ben Tatlow (who, as well as Salt Of The Sound, record under the name Narrow Skies) create a whole new soundscape: full of washes of colour, evocative chords and hints of lyrics. It's most obvious application is to support individual or group meditation and prayer. The title track is full of these heavily engineered atmospheric sound effects, from which Anita's pure voice rises ethereally. There are Celtic overtones but the feel is floaty not folky. "Through The Storm" describes the certainty of God's love even in hard times. The waves of sound merge with multi-layered vocal harmonies and no rhythm, to create a dim swirling sea picture. "Take Me Broken" is perhaps more accessible, as the lyrics are clearer and "Deep Peace", their single, has both a beat and a tune, so is infinitely more commercial. The album's theme could be described as finding God in difficult places and "For Those Who Wander" seems to describe musically wandering in the mist through to unfolding landscapes, while the lyrics are so subsumed that they become mere vocalisation. Ben and Anita feel that this is their most personal release to date, exploring deeper themes of pain, loss and grief, yet each track is conceived as a prayer journey towards God's peace and love. If I have a criticism, it's that the album falls between the two stools of ambient reflection and more upbeat commercial songs.

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