The world of Sanctuary of Dreams is a darkened one; the Sanctuary itself offering the only solace within a largely ambivalent and chaotic environ. The music here is infused with sorrow and regret, as if one finds an uneasy catharsis through dreaming and escape. Fans of VidnaObmana's breathing synth work on Ending Mirage will find a familiar terrain in Sanctuary's first track "Awaken Within a Deeper Realm." There's a gothic mood here, as if one is within a dreamed sunken cathedral as softly pulsing synth textures and lightly symphonic tones create interlocking lines of sound in the mind's eye. "Lost on Silica Ridge" combines some of the nicely rendered electronic percussives of Numina's recent collaboration with Ixohoxi alongside church organ and Obmana synth clouds. "Elements of Time" darkens the mood with processed shakers and claustrophobic, manipulated belltones. "In Loneliness, the Landscape Fades" is also deeply reminiscent of VidnaObmana, bordering on pastiche. Synth tones glide lightly like a fogged valley--Sola's synthwork is never static, making an ever-shifting tonescape that seems self-satisfied with its own melancholy mien. "Beneath the Silver Surface" is far more interesting--a subtle and mysterious elixir of strange wooden noises, resonant, lancing synth effects and piano textures. Eventually, a wonderful gonging bell brings us back to gothic zones; a fantastic, dramatic effect. There is indeed a lot going on here underneath the surface--Sola seems stronger on tracks that operate in darker territories. To illustrate this point, the next track, "Thrown Into Oblivion," treads darkly with chorals and stratospheric synth drones spiraling together ever-downward. A lovely moment. Also impressive is "Fractured Eyes" which artfully manages to digest the VidnaObmana influence by combining it with strange, echoed, synth-waveforms. "Dream Recognition (Silhouette of the Past)" is perhaps the highlight of the disc--a soft Bill Nelson-esque dronescape that vibrates and cascades prettily, punctuated by echoed synth-piano notes chiming distantly. Memorable work, well suited to the repeat button. Next is "Lucid Ascension" featuring the vocalizations of Tara VanFlower (from goth-pop group Lycia). It's another pretty track, the vocals adding to the charm immensely--for those who tend to dream about ethereal undersea beauties: you've just found your soundtrack. Finally, "The Waking Breath" clearly ends the dream with a dismissal of the opalescent soundscaping of earlier tracks. Perhaps I'm "reading" too much into this, but a drone track like this after such a romantic and wistful album can only signal a return to the daily grind of activity most mundane. That said, this is a fine, lengthy track--one in a style I'd like to hear more of from Numina--understated, droning, environmental.

Sanctuary of Dreams marks an intriguing high-point in Numina's development as an ambient practitioner. Certainly, we find no artistic vanguard here, as Sola traverses oft-visited sonic landscapes. In fact, Sola's influences tend to take the driver's seat on the first half of the album. The second half, however, is uniquely Sola's own. What we find in total is a satisfying album of well-rendered sonic dream impressions that often achieves more than the sum of its parts. It's almost as though, during the course of the tracks, the Numina-style made itself evident to the artist--this is an imagined impression, since the tracks are not arranged chronologically. I'm duly impressed with Numina's Hypnos debut--it signals that Sola's best work is ahead of him. Sanctuary of Dreams seems likely to be regarded as an artistic turning point for Numina's brand of memorably melancholy ambience.