Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972 (2011) [Kranky] // Grade: A-

When it comes to challenging the notion of ambient electronic music, Tim Hecker’s your man. Although he creates vivid soundscapes and impressive sonic plateaus, the Montreal-based artist finds way to constantly step outside of the limits of sonics and not only indulge in his own achievements, but is able to push the limits of patients to whoever is listening. Often understood in more extreme surroundings (for example, Hecker performing at a church), sometimes to the human ear, it can be hit or miss. However, Hecker finds the right balance of analog tones and digitized effervescence to create some truly emotive records. Touching upon his previous releases (An Imaginary Country, Apondalifa EP) ever so slightly, Ravedeath, 1972 is a room-filling journey that stretches its tracks into multiple-movement epics that explore simplicity and brevity simultaneously.

The record starts off with build-ups; and there is a ton of build-up moments on this record (in nearly every track) but again necessary to the formula that Hecker provides. Reverse audio, harmonics, tones that attack and disassemble; only parts of the puzzle to each track on the album. While the multiple-movement tracks (“In The Fog,” “In The Air,” “Hatred of Music”) all piece together a cognitive sonic story, it’s really the stand-alone tracks that bring upon a sense of emotive endearment. “No Drums” is a track that relies on it’s synthesized bed and sparse melodies and harmonics to take the listener to somewhere perhaps more ethereal or otherworldly. In other cases, the emotions felt can be evocative of shock and awe, such as the case of “Studio Suicide” which burgeons along a build-up that is already somewhat melancholy and than surely dilutes itself upon dissonance and deformity in its darkest form. What’s striking about the entire record is that it’s all interconnected in some twisted way; it’s a journey that takes you from one emotional extreme to the next without even explaining why.

People should  know by now that Tim Hecker is undoubtedly one of the most heralded ambient producers of our time and when he makes something this good, everyone should listen. While it’s best to not listen to this record on laptops speakers, a good pair of headphones can change the dynamic instantly and transport one to a state of collective consciousness that’s both bright and dark at once, inviting and angry, engaging in the best and worst way possible. This is surely one of the records that will whet any ambient fan’s appetite and perhaps will open the eyes of a casual fan, if they have the patience.

- Electrodrone