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Besides producing atmospheric electronic pieces, this Baghdad-born, Spain-based artist Dania furthermore serves overnight duties as an critical care physician. These late-night hours are the influence behind her latest album Listless: all seven songs were written and produced in the early hours, while the cover showcases the slender flower of the Trichosanthes cucumerina, a species that only blooms after dark. However, there is little trace of the turmoil of her late-night routine in this music: instead, the record exudes a quiet calm that is sometimes blissful, sometimes uncanny.

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Meeting somewhere between downtempo, ethereal rock and ambient, and a hint of catchy melodies, the layered tracks slink along hypnotically, propelled by waves of synthesizers and, for the first time, percussion. An innovative feature to the artist's usual arrangement, these drums add a gentle slow-paced kick to several of the songs. Its meandering, murky beat in the track Personal Assistant recalls the late-90s groups Scala and Seefeel, while Car Crash Premonition is the closest the album come to intense. Written after an unnerving cab ride to her workspace late one evening, it is both contemplative and dizzying, fit for a movie scene.

Other songs, such as I Know That and another called Write My Name, are more reminiscent of Dania’s past output: minimalist and amorphous. The final song, named A Hunger, possesses a subaquatic feel, with gurgling and beeping electronics that resemble medical equipment, interwoven with distorted answerphone-style singing.

Dania’s gentle, murmuring vocal is featured across almost the entirety of the album. The lyrics are almost imperceptible as her vocals are floating, repeated, layered, at points almost absent entirely. Growing up in a household where vocal expression was frowned upon, she has stated that it is an activity she has consistently considered private about. Yet this is additionally an brilliant decision, augmenting the surreal haze on the beautiful, personal album.

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