The Review Zone – Salt of the Sound : Beyond Here @SaltOfTheSound

SALT OF THE SOUND : Beyond Here. (https://saltofthesound.bandcamp.com/)

‘Beyond here’ is the third album from husband and wife duo Anita and Ben Tatlow. Quoting from the press release, “Following in the footsteps of Journeys (2013) and Echoes Of Wonder (2015), Beyond Here is their most personal release to date, exploring deeper themes of pain, grief and loss. Yet the abiding message is one of hope and trust in God’s calling on our lives.” Receiving rave reviews for their earlier work, as far as I am aware Salt Of The Sound pretty much plough their own musical furrow within ccm. For those unfamilar with their work, think ‘Enya’, or ‘Bliss’ but more so! So we have periods of long extended ambient chords, with beautiful (predominantly female) heavily reverbed vocals delivering sometimes simply snatches of lyrical phrases – occasionally almost overwhelmed by the ambient sounds to the extent that words are difficult to follow. Standout tracks for me are ‘Beyond here’, ‘Calling in the wind’, ‘Deep peace’ and ‘Breathe new life’- largely because they have more ‘shape’ than most and come nearest to being considered as ‘songs’. ‘Deep peace’ in particular demonstrates the beauty of Anita’s voice. Production and sound quality are both of a high standard. Those who enjoy ambient music – and when in a certain mood that includes me! – will find much to appreciate here, and I am sure that this latest release will gather the same acclaim as the previous two albums. For ambient music fans then, 9/10. Dave Deeks