This album is heart-wrenching, you can count on Hopkins to do that to you. It touches on something hidden inside, cuts too close to the heart to deal with it casually. Right from the quivering strings in the opening The Wider Sun, the music stops everything and pulls your heart out. If the moment isn't right, of course, you must resist and switch it off. It's not for everyone, every day. It's definitely not an easy listening. But when the time's right and you venture *inside*, it serves as a perfect vehicle to get you there, to face your inner demons, emotional states, whatever they might be. The production is immaculate, detailed, layered, you drown in the synths. It feels like a narrative to get you through your emotional core, it goes through darker turns, heavy-hitting tracks like Colour Eye mercilessly rinse every little drop of residue sweetness, like a weird childhood memory that suddenly pops into your consciousness from somewhere deep within, or perhaps a memory of your first heartbreak. At other times, the tracks simply touch you for their sheer beauty, the sunlit warmth that fills up the desolate space, carrying you through the worst to the safety on the other side, whispering soothingly to facilitate your heart's recovery, its newly found strength, having gone through the worst with you, now seeing you off onwards and upwards. That's the resolution point, track 9, A Drifting Up, perhaps the only reason to give this a listen. So, yes, it's definitely not for everyone. But for the introverted ones, or the introverted side of you, an unforgettable journey. If you don't know this, looking for reasons to listen to this, do so. It speaks with understanding to the part in you that usually stays hidden and it knows it well.

Great release. Heavy dark synths that are out of this world, mixed with free flowing atmospheric melodies. Vessel and Insides are more on his wild side, while The Low Places and A Drifting Up are more structured; you do see his classical elements, especially later in the album. Light Through The Veins is what his older fans were looking for. The entire album is great.

I feel saddened by the fact that I can only give this 3 out of 5. After the first two excellent albums and a string of brilliant remixes for other artists including the creeping crawling rumbling monster that was the remix of Leo Abrahams 'Spider', listening to this left me feeling deflated and somewhat cheated. The previous albums were clearly inspired by the likes of Eno, David Morley, Autechre and a host of other ambient/techno producers from the early to late nineties downtempo electronica scene I was hoping for more of the same this time around and was even prepared to accept a subtle nod to the current trend of analog synth bashing retro electro crap that seems to have infected all other forms of dance music. Instead what we have is some sort of bastard child of Dubstep and IDM with a few ambient melodies and sensibilities thrown in for good measure. There are a few strong tracks on the album where Jon appears to go back to what he does best - lush melodies and subtle but intricate beats - but for the most it just seems to be an exercise in trying to out-program squarepusher/Aphex twin on the drums whist tryng to maintain sense of melody to keep people interested. Whist these skills are to be admired they do not reflect what Jon does best in my opinion and to be honest were done better by the aforementioned artists 10 to 15 years ago. Overall Id rate this album as disappointing but with a few tracks of real quality to comand an overall purchase.