If there’s one things that humans are above many things it’s sentimental. We love to be nostalgic, to try to remember places and people and moments and keep them in storage for ourselves, or give others a sense of the feelings we’ve experienced, but it’s hard to do. Impossible actually, at least in a complete and wholly satisfied sense. Purl’s latest Ambient Dub Techno affair Stillpoint is one such attempt at capturing these moments precious to us in meaningful places, crafting a sublimely atmospheric musical journey around simple beats and field recordings in an effort to immerse us in memory.

Clocking in at 70 minutes it’s a sweeping effort; with only one track under the 5 minute mark all of the pieces are afforded a decent stretch in which to craft their subtle melancholies. Opener “Havets Sång”, or “Songs of the Sea”, presents this slow evolution right from the off as it brings watery slidings and splashings into the mix before dipping into cool, luxurious paced aquatic ambience. Soft synth drones pattern the backfield whilst the dubby basslines bob along, both feeding one another in lulling and rolling waves.

The album goes one of two ways from here; tracks like the brief “Melora” and closer “New Horizons” evoke minimalistic ethereal soundscapes filled with glowing drones, lost in their own beauteous introspections in realms of spacious pleasure, unfraught and uncomplicated in their presentation and feeling. These shimmering gems are two of the best tracks present here, losing the Dub and Techno rhythms to create balearic and peaceful noodlings without a care in the world. Number 2 track “Baleine” is comparable also; although it finds traction in cycling basslines its core is filled with humble drone smears and foundationally organic stretches of processed sound giving it a really natural air.

The other side of the record is of course the more electronically influenced aspect, relying more strongly on beats to bring character and motion to the music. Oddly “Wilderness” is the prime example, bringing its jangling percussion and gritty dub kicks closer to the fore than any other piece; despite its empowered nature it still retains a grip on its roots, and thusly finds itself filled with delicate birdsong and ethereal vocal snippets amongst the concrete jungle. The title track retains some of “Baleine”‘s atmospheric wash but with a deeper and tighter collection of basslines giving it a stronger pace; despite this it still seems to hold onto a sense of lightness and memorable wonderment in the dim glow of its assistant drones.

Both of these sides of the same coin come together in the perfect couplet of “Inre Sken” and “Remnant” near the end of the album, bringing together the idiosyncrasies of the bass rhythms with the less melodic and more bleary constructions in a slow slide to the closer. “Inre Sken” is the longest track and most certainly the best as it buries the bass deep so as to allow the more easygoing electronic noodlings and faded, angelic vocals the space they deserve, suspending the moment and the memory together at once in tight balance. “Remnant”, meanwhile, is its blissed out cousin, capturing its Dub beats and slewing them into a delicious crawl, the rest shuffling along in its wake as it slips into the resigned past.

It can feel a little long at times, I wont lie, but it really is an enrapturing listen that sucks you in right from the off and keeps you circling its nostalgic eddies for the entire duration. Simple, straightforward, yet undeniably emotionally vulnerable music that will certainly find itself amongst the best albums of the year.