Bliss - Quiet Letters

Less a stateside release and more of a "greatest hits" compilation, Bliss' QUIET LETTERS walks that fine, fine line between world music chill out and elevator music boredom. Certainly, the strings on the instrumental "Sleep Will Come" promise good things, as does the fey romantic dreaminess of "Kissing," but some awkwardly stabs at African music on "Wish U Were Here" and "Dunia" come off more as window dressing than actual engagement. The African chanting works better on the charming "Long Life," perhaps because it seems better integrated into the body of the song itself. The Gotan Project-lite of "The Suns of Afterlife" don't come off half bad, even after the filtered muttering halfway through. All the tracks are certainly pleasant enough -- what would you expect from a band called Bliss?