Things run dark and quiet on Kloob’s Deep Emotional Phases. It’s impressionistic ambient, loaded with atmosphere and tension, and it slips pretty easily beneath your skin to do its work. For the most part, Dani Kloob keeps things on the downplayed, droning side, letting the impact come from tone and dimension rather than forceful presentation. It can be as simple as the thematically appropriate rush of wind running through “Haunted” or the vocal samples that rise in “Echoes of Ignorance,” slight elements that carry his tone and intent forward. But there is also texture in abundance, and rich interplay between layers. Kloob nails his shadowy feel particularly well, truly hitting stride on tracks such as “Mediocre Environment.” This piece moves sluggishly forward, shouldering its way through murky air. You can practically see the sounds reluctantly folding back and away. There are touches of brightness as well, but they’re of the sunlight-through-thick-clouds variety. “Solsiticio” introduces a subtle touch of beat via sequencer, and we are ushered into the piece with high vocal pads. “Thin Thread” is a classic-feeling melodic ambient piece that wavers in your ears as it spins its tune on long pads and a touch of electronic twinkle. Two moments overall don’t work for me on this release. “Desahogo” seems to do little more than work its way upward into a blinding wall of sound and then stop; and there’s one big, jarring clatter in the middle of “Distant Alternative” that I wish wasn’t there. It works, technically speaking, this loud crashing note that resonates down into a drone, but given how pacific the rest of the majority release is, it feels a touch out of place.

Overall, this first ambient outing for Kloob makes for a nice, immersive listen. It’s got enough depth to keep you peering into it during your headphone listens, but it also succeeds as a passive, low-volume session. Definitely an album you need to check into.

Available from Relaxed Machinery.