Mandalay Empathy
CD, 1998

"You couldn't even bring yourself/ To stay, oh no/You had to go," Nicola Hitchcock sings accusingly in "Empathy," the fourth and final release by British trip-hop group Mandalay. Sounding a bit like a dreamier version of Portishead, "Empathy" is enchantingly smooth music coupled with Hitchcock's breathy vocals.

It starts off with the string-led ballad "This Life," before heading off into softer, dreamier territory, such as the trippy, sensuous "Flowers Bloom" ("Kisses my shoulder/Cradles his body/Behind mine/Shin to toe to thigh to mind..."), the airy piano ballad "Insensible," and the wistful "Beautiful." Only a few have sharper electronic sounds, like the bouncy trip-hop "Kissing the Day."

"Empathy" leans a bit more on the trip-hop than the pop edge, with a bit of symphonic grandeur mixed in with the horns and strings (or electronic approximations of them). This is definitely music to slow-dance to -- the sweet tone and abundance of love songs demands it.

Hitchcock's voice is the centerpiece of Mandalay. Her singing is a bit trembly and very sweet, like a lost child; the wispy vocals in "Insensible" add to the feel of frightened innocence. And her songs are well-suited -- they're a bit high-school-love-poetry in their simplicity, but they are quite pretty, especially when they stay simple. "Do you know you're beautiful?/You are, yes you are, you are," has an oddly touching resonance.

But if Hitchcock is the centerpiece, then Saul Freeman's electronic production is the flowers that cover the centerpiece. He manages a downtempo, almost jazzy sound, but switches over to soundscapes that stop just short of being epic, and the cascading electronica of "Kissing the Day." Samples of church bells are patched in, and what sounds like muted brass and violins.

Mandalay left on a high note in "Empathy" a truly beautiful album that seems all the more poignant because it was their last. Beautiful, mellow and sweet, this is a definite must-listen.