SONG REVIEW 🎵📝 shpakOO - Sails up
shpakOO - Sails up
Dance/Electronica
MA, US
Overall Impression: “Sails Up” reveals a different creative tide in shpakOO’s artistic waters, turning away from the kinetic, jazz-tinged, progressive-electronica momentum of the previously reviewed “EFn’T” and instead drifting into deeper, more contemplative currents. Where the earlier track leaned on animated movement and playful flourishes, “Sails Up” is defined by its arresting sense of atmosphere and patience. Ambient pads provide the track’s absorbing backdrop, while soft, introspective piano phrases emerge and recede with a level of grace that feels deeply intriguing. Melodic synth elements remain present but subdued and internalized, serving the mood rather than driving it. The result is a soundscape that feels suspended in time—less about progression and more about immersion.
Strongest Point(s): What makes the track so deeply absorbing is its balance between beauty and unease. There’s a dreamlike quality to the melodic writing, threaded with an oddly eerie undertone that keeps the listener emotionally alert and engaged. ShpakOO isn’t afraid to flirt with harmonic tension, and moments of dissonance feel deliberate and expressive rather than jarring. A standout example arrives at 1:31, when the bass synth momentarily drops out of pitch, subtly bending the harmonic foundation beneath the listener before gently settling back into place. It’s a brief but powerful gesture—like a passing doubt or shadow crossing an otherwise calm inner landscape—that adds emotional weight and depth. These contrasts between delicacy and disquiet give “Sails Up” its hypnotic pull. Taken as a whole, the track feels both bold and poignant. The performances are nuanced and restrained, the writing thoughtful without being overly literal, and the arrangement carefully sculpted to let texture carry the narrative. Every sound feels chosen for emotional resonance rather than technical display, allowing the layers to breathe and interact naturally. “Sails Up” doesn’t rush to make its point; it invites the listener to linger, to feel, and to interpret—quietly asserting itself as a deeply evocative piece of new-age inspired electronica.
Target Audience Appeal: Fans of atmospheric electronica and new-age styles will find this to be thoroughly absorbing.
Artist target suggestions: Solar Fields, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Biosphere, Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, Tangerine Dream, Abakus
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About the Reviewer:
Andre is a freelance session guitarist, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at a degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related to a level that has allowed him to become both a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed "Guitar Nerd" Andre has been continually studying the guitar as well as teaching it, helping students learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and become proficient in home recording.
