Phrases like "sold out at source", "ultra limited" and "vinyl only" seem to be cropping up more and more often around these parts, and here comes yet another painfully necessary purchase. Who said January was quiet in the business? It's hard to know what to say about Tim Hecker that you won't already know. Afterall, it can't be that long since we were raving on about his Norberg live CD-R for Room40, but Atlas marks a real advancement in Hecker's musical evolution. While much of the Montreal-based soundsculptor's recent output has delved further and further into nebulous, plume-like noise - riddled with droning undercurrents, Atlas features a far more emphatic use of real instruments. The distortion and haze is still very much a part of Hecker's modus operandi, but spouts of melody erupt from this music's molten core. Chiming passages of electric guitar feature prevalently throughout 'Atlas One', while on the B-side, 'Atlas Two' begins with the kind of exquisitely filtered ambience you'd hear from Boards Of Canada at the height of their powers. Buried in there somewhere is a quivering mass of piano that slowly irons itself out into an expanse of glowing tonal sumptuousness, only to die out gracefully, evaporating into a rasping static. Gorgeous music - Essential Purchase!
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Phrases like "sold out at source", "ultra limited" and "vinyl only" seem to be cropping up more and more often around these parts, and here comes yet another painfully necessary purchase. Who said January was quiet in the business? It's hard to know what to say about Tim Hecker that you won't already know. Afterall, it can't be that long since we were raving on about his Norberg live CD-R for Room40, but Atlas marks a real advancement in Hecker's musical evolution. While much of the Montreal-based soundsculptor's recent output has delved further and further into nebulous, plume-like noise - riddled with droning undercurrents, Atlas features a far more emphatic use of real instruments. The distortion and haze is still very much a part of Hecker's modus operandi, but spouts of melody erupt from this music's molten core. Chiming passages of electric guitar feature prevalently throughout 'Atlas One', while on the B-side, 'Atlas Two' begins with the kind of exquisitely filtered ambience you'd hear from Boards Of Canada at the height of their powers. Buried in there somewhere is a quivering mass of piano that slowly irons itself out into an expanse of glowing tonal sumptuousness, only to die out gracefully, evaporating into a rasping static. Gorgeous music - Essential Purchase!
Phrases like "sold out at source", "ultra limited" and "vinyl only" seem to be cropping up more and more often around these parts, and here comes yet another painfully necessary purchase. Who said January was quiet in the business? It's hard to know what to say about Tim Hecker that you won't already know. Afterall, it can't be that long since we were raving on about his Norberg live CD-R for Room40, but Atlas marks a real advancement in Hecker's musical evolution. While much of the Montreal-based soundsculptor's recent output has delved further and further into nebulous, plume-like noise - riddled with droning undercurrents, Atlas features a far more emphatic use of real instruments. The distortion and haze is still very much a part of Hecker's modus operandi, but spouts of melody erupt from this music's molten core. Chiming passages of electric guitar feature prevalently throughout 'Atlas One', while on the B-side, 'Atlas Two' begins with the kind of exquisitely filtered ambience you'd hear from Boards Of Canada at the height of their powers. Buried in there somewhere is a quivering mass of piano that slowly irons itself out into an expanse of glowing tonal sumptuousness, only to die out gracefully, evaporating into a rasping static. Gorgeous music - Essential Purchase!