El Perro Del Mar is the Seinfeld of chillout music. How do we compare these two possibly dichotomous entities – one an American sitcom, the other a Swedish singer and musician? Well they both produced things that are essentially about nothing, but in the same way that Seinfeld is the quintessential sitcom, From The Valley To The Stars contains the most beautiful, ethereal sounds I have heard in a long time. The nothing reference pertains to the ethereality of the music. Having now listened to the album three or four times, I still cannot recall a specific moment. Rather, I come away from the CD knowing that I have heard something wonderful, but am unable to quite put my finger on what that wonderful thing was. It really is a beautiful nothing.

This is the second album for Sarah Assbring, who not surprisingly calls herself something other in English speaking countries. Puerile I know, but bad luck is bad luck when you have a surname like this. The album is piano- and organ-based rather than the more familiar guitar sounds from her first release, but is complemented by guitar and bass contributions from Jesper Jarold and musicians from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

For all the musical talent contained in this album and the beautiful arrangements that have resulted from El Perro Del Mar’s ministrations, the thing that you will take away more than anything else is the heavenly vocals and imbued happiness this album of nothing leaves you with. Warm away the winter chills and put some sunshine into an otherwise dull day with this fabulous collection of joyous, yet chilled-out sounds.