I have to confess that until this landed on my doormat the other day, I was not familiar with this guy's work. Otherwise known as Jesse Sola, this is his second release is on the American Hypnos label, home to some of the finest EM musicians in the US and beyond. Furthermore any CD that namechecks both Steve Roach and Paul Ellis in the credits has got to be worth a listen in my book.

It starts so quietly, that even with headphones on, you wonder if that really is music you can hear, and then slowly but surely, wonderful synth sounds fill your head and it is an excellent starter to a CD that I have listened to a great deal over the last few days. The opening piece is called Drift Catalyst, and at nearly eight minutes long it is really atmospheric.

Secrets From The Flame also starts in a similar low-key fashion, before a very church like synth comes to the fore. The track features a guest appearance by the New Zealand ambient musician Rudy Adrian and I imagine that is him on percussion, which I have to admit is a tad too dominant for my tastes.

The Thirteenth Moon is next and at 5:30 the shortest piece. Initially it just ebbs and flows. However at the three-minute mark it then gets all "heavy" and the tone becomes much darker. The last forty seconds you can barely hear at all. Interesting.

The fourth track is New lands Approach, which at first appears to be a similar minimalist soundscape, reminding me of Steve Roach circa Mystic Chords. Then a rhythm starts up, and a very infectious one it is too! This is great stuff. Other "sounds" appear and still that rhythm carries on all before it, and as I write this, my feet are tapping away – the best one so far.

Next up is The Nautilus Chamber. This is another moody and rather meditative track, sounding just great on my headphones. I liked the sense of contrast with the proceeding piece.

Stranger still is Sundrown – if those are guitars right at the start, then I will eat my woolly hat. You then hear clanging sounds, resembling empty water pipes being hit and it becomes all very nightmarish and dissonant. The percussion gets occasionally louder, and by some distance this one of the weirdest pieces of music I've heard all year.

Frozen Halo likes up to up to its excellent title – a fantastically atmospheric piece – best listened to in the dark – those drones are scary! Hypnotic Shores is completely different again, synths swirling around a repetitive beat, and if that seems samey, nothing could be further the truth. This is another great track, which again lives up to its title.

Last and not least is Return To The Crystal Temple, the longest track on the CD. Bell like sounds get us underway on what I think is a guitar. The synths then kick in and it sort of meanders on to a conclusion. Another interesting track and again I have to say that it is best listened to in the dark.