Records of the Week

OFFICIAL SITE OF HAMMOCK

HAMMOCK ON MYSPACE

Every so often, a non-meteorological indicator of the shifting of seasons appears in aural form – Codes in the Clouds sending off the summer of 2009 in a fit of stratospheric tremolo, Standing in Silence from Rhian Sheehan giving our eardrums comfort from the cold, and Ólafur Arnalds instilling the hope and joy of Springtime. The release of Chasing After Shadows…Living With the Ghosts is perfectly timed, and the record seems intentionally crafted as a soundtrack to the choreography of new growth. Kenotic was similarly timed in 2007. While Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow showed that Hammock can indeed craft an album of pure ambience (and do it ever so skillfully), the newest release from the Nashville duo is a return to fully-fleshed form, and anything but divergent in sound. But the doubters citing continuity as a pitfall of the album are wrong. From the introductory bass line and familiar glossy backdrop of opener “The Backward Step,” to tasteful melodic execution on the single “Breathturn,” and to the 3-note pattern dénouement of “Andalusia,” most of the defining elements of a Hammock release are present – and nothing more is necessary.  The entrance into the summer months is nothing but pleasantly familiar, and Hammock have given us plenty of space to enjoy its bloom and bounty.