Blue Stone - Breathe (CD)

All Music Guide

Blue Stone is a collaborative project between multiinstrumentalist Bill Walters and producer/programmer Robert Smith (who also makes chillout recordings under the name Bella Sonus). Breathe is their debut as a duo, and the music they make here is pleasantly easy on the ear, with overtones of classical and worldbeat as well as the occasional whiff of a gothic influence. It's not terribly exciting music, but excitement isn't the point: what they're shooting for is "ethereal sonic bliss." The result is, at times, kind of like Enigma without the smarmy, moustachetwirling sexuality; the parallel is especially noticeable when vocalist Darcy starts whispering in her rather poorlypronounced French ("Breathe", "I Am"). Every once in a while the group's attempts at meditative depth end up just sounding depressing, as on the soggy "Only One". But for the most part this is nice stuff, the kind of electronica that will appeal to people who really aren't sure they care for electronica but are looking for something a bit more hip and exotic than that Debussy bestof they've been listening to over and over.

- Rick Anderson, All Music Guide