This EP is virtually review-proof – virtually, but not entirely. I had played it a few times and on every occasion had found myself becoming bored, sleepy or listless. Even as I write this, at one in the afternoon, I find my attention swiftly fracturing as I listen again – despite just downing a venti Starbucks doubleshot. I was ready to slam the artist until I visited his MySpace page, only to discover to my chagrin that the album was recorded “for the sole purpose of sleep accompaniment.” Wow, mission accomplished. It’s not difficult to test the efficacy of this effort; I can already attest to its success. As the album is a free download, it may someday become a prescription for insomniacs.

This does not necessarily mean that it is a good release. There are times when the music is just a bit distracting, which I suspect might awaken a listener. The first such moment arrives with the intrusion of distant, off-key singing in track one. The second is the piano – played in a lovely lullaby fashion, but just a bit too loud, in track four. (By comparison, the piano begins quietly in the following track, “Everyone Is Sleeping,” allowing the restrained, hazy drones to rise in the background like, um, tides.) The concept is nice, and the playing is suitably peaceful, but my question is, “How many albums like this do we need?” The same effect can be accomplished with a white noise machine.

Musically, there’s not a lot going on. The melodies are simple, the timbre consistent, the sense of drift easily apparent. One can skip forward at almost any point without missing much. I doubt that anyone would want the sheet music; and the thought of listening to this in concert is amusing, because the performance hall would have to be filled with beds. On the other hand, that might make for a nice evening. As our society becomes increasingly more anxious and sleep-deprived, releases such as this may make for a welcome panacea; but is it too much to ask that songs be present as well?

There are ways to produce relaxing music without being boring. Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” is perhaps the finest example, but there are many in the modern era as well, from lullabies to complicated soundscapes. The presence of a music box, or a sample of a children’s record, or even a Shakespearean actor intoning, “Goodnight, sweet prince” would have gone a long way toward making a recording such as this palatable. Field recordings – owls, clanking heaters, distant trains – might have rounded out the recording as well. Numerous electronic artists have had success making sleep music for Wixel’s Slaapwel label; not all have been great for sleeping, but all have displayed imagination and verve, which are sadly lacking here. Insubstantial as moonlight, Through Moonlit Windows is a wisp of a recording, but perhaps it is the box spring upon which a sturdier mattress can be laid.