For the most part, great music requires emotion -- on the part of the musician, who must convey some feeling, and from the listener, who must then produce an emotional response. A song like "Smells Like Teen Spirit", for example, conveyed the bitterness and angst of a generation. However, it required an audience that shared those feelings in order to become a success, as people everywhere heard the song and allowed it to penetrate some deep recess of their souls, where it could find emotional resonance.

Therefore, one is faced with a real dilemma when listening to electronic music, especially the minimalist IDM subgenre exemplified by Stream. Creating this music requires a great degree of precision and technical knowledge. One is left to wonder whether it is possible for the artist to connect with his or her audience on an emotional level when they may lack a comparably high degree of intellectual involvement.

The answer to this question, on Stream at least, is a resounding yes. Abrams somehow manages to infuse the entire album with a great deal of warmth, creating a relaxing and comforting atmosphere. More interestingly, unlike such artists as Autechre, Abrams does not compose music that is deliberately difficult or obscure. Instead, every track flows seamlessly into the next, allowing the listener to be drawn into the action. In a way, Stream could be seen as an accessible, enjoyable entry point for a genre with few artists who make a deliberate point of being easily accessible (and in some cases, enjoyable).

Stream also features that rarest of minimalist phenomena, discernible -- and sometimes danceable -- beats. "The Theory", for example, sounds vaguely like a chill-out track, with slowed-down beats and bleeps, and soft walls of sound lapping in the speakers. "Bendy" is actually catchy, its waves of sound creating melodies and hooks (relatively speaking, of course).

Minimalist electronica for the masses? Perhaps. Without a doubt, though, Stream is the sort of album that anyone, especially those who aren't normally into this sort of music, could fall in love with.