Deborah Martin (electronics, keyboards, synths) and Jill Haley (English horn, oboe) are back with their follow-up to 2021's 'The Silence of Grace.' Whereas that album was inspired by the beauty of the natural world, 'Into The Quiet' draws from internal landscapes, inspired by the idea that one must go "into the quiet" to find out what s hidden within themselves. The album consists of eight tracks of moderate length for a total of 43 minutes, with the titles "Sleeping Giants," "Falling Away From Earth," "Into the Quiet," "Reaching the Ambient," "Refuge," "Hall of Whispers," "Elements," and "Violet Night."

If you are familiar with the duo's previous album, you will have some idea of what to expect; placid soundscapes that fit very well into the New Age genre tinged with a melodic melancholy, ideal for contemplation. Although there are breaks between tracks, the first several compositions sounded quite similar to me, and if I wasn't paying attention to the breaks, it all seemed to blend together without distinctive themes. Perhaps I'm just not grasping the subtlety, but I doubt the casual listener will either. I believe this is due in part to Haley's nebulous melodic approach. It almost seems to be a free-form improvisation she's putting forth, although a good one at that. It's not necessarily noodling, but there is little that is memorable or truly engaging. What I'm really listening for though is Martin's filling in the gaps and adding just the right ambience in just the right places, which she does with aplomb.

I noticed a bit of a shift in the ambience from "Refuge" onward, where the woodwinds seemed like they were realizing more distinctive melodic concepts, although still somewhat abstract. My favorite track on the album was undauntedly "Hall of Whispers," where Haley's woodwinds and Martin's harp sounds combine to form some melodic magic. The ambient sounds Deborah employed were scintillating as well. And with the light harp touch she sets the melodic tone for "Elements" as well. Although "Violet Night" is a bit somnombulistic, its mood proves a nice way to end the album.

This is very contemplative album, in fact, so much so that I almost fell asleep during the first listening. (To be fair, it was kind of late.) Listeners are either going to love 'Into The Quiet' or be terribly bored by it. I have to say that I liked 'The Silence of Grace' better, and if this duo decided to do another collaboration I would recommend something more melodically memorable.