I can't say this album really floors me like it does most. The songs seem like passages to emotions that aren't built well. Like a story without good character building. Something seems missing. I could point to the tracks being too short possibly. But that would seem silly. Even if this formula of Gas wanna-be sounds should be developed over twice the normal song length here. Something is just missing. I would say the depression out performs beauty here. If you want pretty guitars go listed to plenty of great shoegaze bands. And this isn't ambient techno btw. Those who say it is don't know their ass for their hand. Just because the melody drones over a beat doesn't make it ambient techno. The songs just seem to lack the development they need to stand out. The songs themselves become a blur of one song to another without any anticipation or break for memorizing or reflecting what transpired. Almost pop structure like. Took the elements of the formula and compacted them. Not what I had hoped for. And a little disappointing to say the least. More developed moods needed. 2.5/5

Following up the free digital teaser, No Place For Us EP (Ghostly, 2008), The Sight Below graces our ears with a full length, Glider. The album picks up right where the EP left off - majestic flowing ambient pads spreading over endless soundscapes complimented with an ongoing four/four beat. This is ambient techno at its finest. The lush acoustic guitars are drenched in layers of reverb and luscious background chords. All the instrumentation on the album [sans the 808 percussion] was done with a guitar, ebow, viola box, loop pedals, reverb units and a delay box. The lack of transition in the rhythm first may seem to sound almost amateurish (as if a simple kick was stretched out throughout the entire track), until you realize how important this explicitly desired minimalism is for creating a hypnotic atmosphere, resembling a pumping heart beat somewhere deep within your throat. The title of the album triggers a distant memory: I jump off a mountain in Rio de Janeiro, silently hand glide through thick humid air, and land on the beach. The music evokes all the experienced feelings. The calmness of the ocean. The simplicity of falling. The excitement of danger. The Glider is the perfect soundtrack for this flashback. It's a pleasure to see this album on Ghostly International which is currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a tour of The Sight Below, Lusine, Grouper, and others along the way (see the label's myspace for tour dates). This Seattle based artist prefers to keep out of the spotlight and stay anonymous (hopefully for the time being). And as long as The Sight Below keeps on making that great music, we don't care. You will absolutely fall in love with this album if you follow Yagya, Echospace, Gas, and Christopher Willits. And don't forget to pickup the free EP!