The first thing that strikes me is the appropriateness of the band-name – as the album plays you can almost feel icy winds blowing on you as you lie within an imaginary wasteland in contemplative solitude. ‘Band’ is here taken to mean ‘musical entity’ as Arctic Plateau is made up of 1 person, an Italian dude called Gainluca Divirgilio.

“On a Sad Sunny Day” is minimalistic, psychedelic and highly atmospheric. Think of it as an auditory landscaping of a barren place and having parallels to bands such as Anathema, Porcupine Tree or certain aspects of Maudlin Of The Well. ‘Alive’ and ‘Lepanto’ are convincing invitations into imaginary etherworlds. Other compositions, such as ‘Ivory’ and ‘In Epica Memories’, become overbearing after a while. Generally, however, the compositions work out quite well. The vocals’ diction is weak with the unplentiful lyrics being barely discernible. If I were the devil’s advocate I’d say this was intentional so as to enhance the atmosphere but in reality I found it frustrating.

The album’s official brief proclaims, “On a Sad Sunny Day” possesses a ‘dream-like atmosphere’ and in fact it does possesses a significant introspective depth. Mr Divirgilio takes his musical quirkiness a step too far in ‘In Time’, a 21-minute+ composition that includes 13 minutes of…..complete silence.

Whether heard all in one go or in little doses, this album is an experience worth delving into.