Every time I listen to this album I am forced to ask myself an important question: how on Earth has Alpha managed to elude me for so long? They've been around since 1996 but Stargazing is the first I've heard from them. I feel like I should be making fun of myself.

It's plain disturbing to think there has been a band out there capable of making music of this magnitude for such a long time before they even registered on my radar. Oh well, at least my ignorance of the Bristol duo allowed me to be wonderfully surprised after picking Stargazing out of a pile based on its cool cover photo.

I don't know how I can properly describe this album. I could tell you it contains elements of trip hop, ambient, electronica and neo-soul, but that would be slapping confining labels on it.

I could call it headphone candy, but that would be misleading--candy is usually good in small doses, Stargazing is meant for mass consumption.

I could tell you it makes perfect music to party, sleep, relax, study or set the mood to, but that would be leaving too much out.

I could mention how Alpha is capable of making equally wonderful instrumental and vocal songs, except Stargazing doesn't really sound like a collection of songs so much as one coherent entity.

I guess all I can tell you, as cliched as it might sound, is this: you should hear this album--chances are it will make your life marginally better.

Go, now.