third album in four years. The band was influenced by Soft Machine, This Heat, Tortoise, Talk Talk, Supersilent, Brian Wilson, Robert Wyatt, Nick Drake and Jaga Jazzist, whom The Observatory opened up for at the Mosaic Music Festival in 2007, amongst others. The album was described by the band as "a rich and imaginative musical vision, on which vocalist-guitarist Leslie Low builds his pensive, tender yet elliptical song-craft. The adventurous and epic exist in perfect tandem with restraint and intricacy. Exploring an ocean of sound and emotion, A Far Cry From Here should strike a chord with fans of experimental and progressive-minded classics such as Radiohead's OK Computer, Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden and Wilco's A Ghost Is Born." Unlike the process on Time of Rebirth and Blank Walls, where the band built on frontman Leslie Low's arrangements, each band member contributed ideas for songs on A Far Cry From Here. Reviewing the album for the Singapore edition of Time Out, Chris Toh wrote that A Far Cry From Here "delves even deeper into experimental melodies and rhythms than the band's previous critically acclaimed albums". The Today review noted how A Far Cry From Here "revels in a sense of unease and is the most obvious sign yet of the band's move away from its past 'ambient candy' sound". Yeow Kai Chai of The Straits Times praised The Observatory for "delving deep and venturing into the unknown...This sense of unease, a constant calibration between heaviness and lightness, informs the way the music switches between jazzy delicacy and far-out phases of post-rock noiseniks. It's both the beauty and the beast... it's a ghostly, raw, sometimes intense soundscape with minimal overdubs to frighten off lazy lounge cats." As with previous releases, the band chose a non-standard packaging instead of the conventional jewel case. The outer package is a small box with flap, containing a foldout multipanel slipcover with information, and a CD holder in the last section. A Far Cry From Here was launched on 14 April 2007 at Zouk. Dark Folke Released: July 2009 Produced by Jørgen Træen and The Observatory Recorded, Mixed & mastered by Jørgen Træen at Duper Studio (Bergen, Norway) The fourth album was again recorded and mixed in Bergen, Norway with their longtime collaborator, Jorgen Traeen. The band describes the work as "a change in musical direction" and said "the math prog rock of The Observatory's third