After a five-year break from the studio, Damon and Naomi have released The Earth Is Blue, a soothing, tranquil album. The record is heavily instrument-driven and includes no fancy or overbearing production. The music is calming, minimalist and never brazen. However, there is no real depth or breadth of emotion either. Every song has exactly the same tone and the same expressionless voices.

While the vocals sound nice, they never seem to reflect the lyrical shift from melancholy to confusion to longing. Lyrics like “Whiskey pours like teardrops fall/ The gods receive them both the same/ My temple ground lies under the town/ The streets above are paved with shame” should elicit more than a single volume, single toned exhalation of breath.

By the sixth track, monotony sets in and the listener feels like he/she has been forgotten in a private room of some day spa, with the album playing in the background to force relaxation.

Having said that, Earth is not a completely terrible album. The best track is definitely “Malibran.” With its saxophone and trumpet solos overlaying a subtle drum backdrop it relays an elegant, textured jazz feel.

For those who are patient and want to relax, this record is worth a listen.

—Idil Hersi