Creating worthwhile ambient music requires one to straddle a rather slender line, crossing over either side of which causes one of two things: 1.) the music rises above the maximum threshold for what can be considered ambient because of too much going on, or 2.) the music becomes so bare that it practically ceases to exist (or have any point to exist). Like I said, it’s a narrow path. It’s an even narrower path, though, to juxtapose ambient songs and acoustic indie songs because it entails having to pair genres that shouldn’t necessarily be on the same album. Yet, perhaps the narrowest path is combining the two genres together. Add to all of this the fact that a relative newcomer to the music scene is attempting the aforementioned experimentation and you’ve got Sleep Whale’s Houseboat. The whole album is a swirling cacophony of guitars, keyboards, and background noises that all churn the aural waves around you. It’s as if Sleep Whale wants to soothe you with a blanket of ambient acoustic music. And it achieves that goal with the effortless proficiency of a band a decade its senior.Most of the tracks contain no vocals, allowing the sea surf to envelop the listener. ‘Sleep Reprise’ and ‘Roof Sailing’ are the best examples here, the former being carried along by a spiraling music box melody, and the latter being an acoustic ditty featuring sound effects that gently bubble to the surface. When vocals are found, they are as hypnotic as the music. ‘Make Another Picture,’ for example, finds the star-reaching voice soaked in hazy reverb à la Panda Bear. ‘Light Tunnel’ features a vocal sample buried underneath the whitecaps, one that ascends and descends with the emotion of the accompanying music.Clearly, Houseboat isn’t just some randomly chosen title. It would appear that Sleep Whale chose it for a reason, namely that the music and lyrics within are to be seen as isolationist. That is, SW’s music is a break from the rest of the world, a peaceful otherworldly existence that only you know about. It’s on this metaphorical boat that you are meant to find a home ”“ a second home, albeit, but a home nonetheless ”“ where you can enjoy the tranquility of the quiet sea around you. I can’t imagine a better escape.

Buy the album on Amazon | [itunes link="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/still-drumming/id338736204?uo=4" title="Sleep_Whale-Houseboat_(Album)" text="iTunes"]