500 Words or Less Reviews: Hammock – Mysterium
I have long loved the music of Hammock, the band comprised of guitarists and sound-scapers, Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson. Perhaps one day I will write a detailed exploration of their entire discography. For now, I will say this: I love the mood and energy they create with their particular brand of post-rock ambient music. They craft sound and emotion by using guitars, pedals, piano, cello, and various other tools. For the uninitiated, their music floats and sinks; built around droning guitars. You will not hear them on your local radio station. I do not know enough about what goes into making an album like Mysterium, I just know that whatever they do, they do it better than most.
Mysterium
Mysterium, their eighth full-length album, continues Hammock’s mastery of their chosen art form. In some ways, it is their biggest album to date – with choral and orchestra components used to complement the already stunning melodies they play with guitar and piano. In other ways, it is their most personal and vulnerable album. They composed and dedicated the album to Clark Kern, Marc Byrd’s nephew, who died in 2016 after fighting with a rare disease for his entire life. This creates an album full of arresting melodies tenderly worked into subdued and serene numbers.
Music, at its very core, is supposed to make us feel. When we listen to a song, we should sense what the artists felt when they sculpted it from air. If an artist can do that well, they will capture our imaginations and our deepest emotions. Hammock does that and does it in remarkable fashion. Mysterium is built on converging layers of grief, sadness, and hope. These mostly wordless songs speak volumes about life, death, and the struggle each of us face when we experience a profound loss. Hammock is so gifted at writing emotionally resonant music they rarely need words to communicate, and on this album, they take that a step further by using silence to capture the full weight of grief and reverence.
The songs are ethereal, poignant, and sacred. At times as I listened, it felt as if the sadness of a particular song would completely overwhelm me. Then the song would introduce a new melody and the entire mood would change. Mysterium flows effortlessly from aching grief to soaring hope. I have loved Hammock’s music from the first note I heard, mostly because their music speaks to both parts of my life – the here and now and the yet to come. Hammock has one hand digging deep into the soil of the human condition while the other is reaching, grasping, straining for the heavens above.
If these descriptions do not explain what their music sounds like, I am truly sorry. I do not have the skills as a writer to explain my reaction to their music. I just know I long for spiritual nourishment of this kind and Mysterium is a veritable feast for my soul.
Listen to the album below or click this link to buy it – Mysterium.
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I’ve been listening to this album a lot since you mentioned that you were reviewing it…
It is utterly, heartbreakingly beautiful.
Agreed. I’m glad you like it.
I decided to listen to this album today while I worked. I figured it was mellow, with very few lyrics, so it would not distract me too much.
I was wrong. This album has wrecked me today.