11 tracks. Running time 63:12 Readers may recognise sohachtoa as a mnemonic from school maths lessons used to remember how to calculate sine, cosine, and hypotenuse. In this case Sohcahtoa is a trio of Eric Barnett, Mark Frey, and Tim Frey who formed this year to get away from “standard four-chord rock music”. What they have created on Sacrifices Slumber is a blend of ambient, experimental, and post-rock - to mention the most obvious styles. A short track called, appropriately enough, “Intro” begins the album. It's a quiet piece of distant rumbling with high pitched weaving drones in the foreground accompanied by pondering plucked bass notes and various disquieting effects. This along with the slightly apprehensive mood of the second track “Harmon Cavender is Coming” fools one into thinking it's going to be an album leaning to the darker end of the spectrum. So it's a pleasant surprise when the next, though short, track “Too Pretty” bursts into a pretty melody of quick repetitive guitar notes surrounded by lovely tinkling refrains. What works well on this album is the balance of acoustic and electric or electronic instrumentation. Besides several guitars and a synthesiser we also hear a glokenspiel, trumpet, and harmonica. My favourite piece exemplifying this is “... w/castles” on which a delightful melody conveying a hint of sadness is played on acoustic guitar while pads and intermittent twinkles from the glokenspiel add to the innocent nature of the piece. Aptly for this time of year one track - “Rosebud” - features percussion in the style of sleigh bells set against rhythmic and melodious guitar and bright glokenspiel notes. Listening to this piece it's easy to imagine a reindeer pulled sled in Lapland carrying festive items. Though Sacrifices Slumber isn't an album I will play often, it's nonetheless a pleasant and generally mellow work, occasionally reminiscent of Hammock when the elastically stretched guitar lines come in. It's an album perhaps suited to a lazy sunday afternoon listening watching the world go by.