Though I never would have known it without reading the press kit I received from Kopas' label, A Fragment of a Confession is a concept album, loosely based on a poem entitled Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession. This was the first poem published by Victorian poet Robert Browning, and was printed in the 1830's. Though the poem's name above is a link to it's text, there is no need to read it to appreciate Kopas' debut.

Like album-mates Blue Stone and Amethystium, Kopas' music is sleek, exquisitely produced, and downtempo. Like Blue Stone in particular, I found this album to feel a bit cold and calculated at first, but after a couple of listens I was able to become immersed. Synths are very dominant, and effects are used competently to strong atmospheres. The rhythm section is typical of the genre, lending a nice groove to the tracks but never overpowering the more important harmonic material. A few vocal samples are scattered throughout Fragment, but it's really an instrumental album. Ambient/Chillout tracks like Budapest Blues(7) and the opening Amrita(1) form the bulk of the album, and are appropriately entrancing. I find a few tracks, like Don't Let Go (Hold On)(3) and Samadhi(9), which exhibit strong New-Jazz and Lounge influence, to be emotionally trite, but I am predisposed against these styles.

I doubt that many people will love this album, but many will enjoy it quite a bit, due to its being a more interesting than a moving listen. If you've been looking for some new instrumental Nu Ambient, this is a prime choice, but I don't quite think I'd call it a "must-have" for fans of the genre.