Customer Reviews

Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are few bands that can make me melt into woozy, giddy oblivion, carried away on clouds of mad laughter and Tigger-ish joy... The Verve when Richard has slipped off his loafers and is feeling IT, Bono when he and we are elevating, The Shore when they close a set with Coming Down... but for the inward journey, for the road less traveled and the Joseph Campbell path into the deep interior of your soul, there are few handrails to guide you. Hammock is the closest thing to Soma I've ever found. Their music slip streams under my skin and finds its way into my nervous system. I've played their albums so many times that they've merged with my heartbeat and breathing rhythm but this one, this latest effort, requires a little participation by you. You're gonna have to slowwwwwwwww way down for its effects to kick in. I was playing it in my car when that moment happened and it was all I could do to keep on the road.

A few suggestions: headphones are helpful. 30 minutes away from the internet and days and days without news would be nice. Mind you, none of this is required if you are one of those people who can sleep on airplanes and relax in the middle of intersections because Hammock music needs you to concentrate just a little, surrender to it if you dare, open your heart and your imagination and I guarantee you the music will reward you amply many times over.

If you have ever decided that maybe it's better to look at just one painting for hours instead of rushing headlong through a museum... if you can look into the eyes of your beloved and find eternity, then maybe you too will find the key that unlocks the door that opens the room where all these colors exist that these boys are hearing and bringing back to us in the valley.

I'm not on any drug but the Hammock catalog IS playing on infinite loop in the background as I write this. I am one of the converted, so take this for what it is worth. Some friends of mine now share the addiction, and some shake their heads and think I'm crazy. But how else to explain reviews that range from 1 to 5 and I'd give it lots more if only I could?

There are times in life when you just KNOW... reasons and logic fade away and you grab your Blake and put away your Kant and dance for the shear joy of being alive in this moment. That's where the Pied Piper, Richard Ashcroft singing "Come On" or one whiff of the delirious smell of her perfume are all the proof you'll ever need. This is like that. Some things just are.

Lie down, be still, close your eyes, give it a whirl -- and you'll see.

I have yet to be disappointed with a release by Hammock. Casually finding out about them back in 2004, when they released Kenotic easily was one of the best things that happened to me that year, musically speaking. Since then, they've released a couple more EPs and another full length album, in 2006. All their albums have become standards in my collection where they top my Last.FM list of most played artists above The Beatles and many other legendary artists.

Their music simply transcends time and place. I can listen to their work over and over and never grow tired: rather, I feel empowered -it makes me feel great and want to jump up and live life at its fullest. That's Hammock in a nutshell for you... no language, just music to let you release.

In "Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow", their 2008 release, besides counting on the most gorgeous album artwork to date they've gone further from their more dream pop sound of previous albums, coming closer to the music of Stars of The Lid and The Dead Texan: very quiet and soothing ambient loops that are bound to enchant you. They have earned my respect and admiration one more time. I recommend this album as my favorite to date in 2008.

Hammock never fails to dissolve the illusion of time and space, break down the matrix of structured rules, and unplug from the looping pattern of being. Hammock makes me close my eyes and with the flow of sound hear my breathing. I occasionally drift outside of my thoughts while soaring through the vast soundscapes of Hammock's pillow-soft meadows. But when I listen closely, the music speaks in its ambient tongue to the body within. Andrew Thompson and Marc Byrd have been creating their ethereal lullabies since the inception of Hammock Music, and their debut release, Kenotic, in 2005. Four albums later we are rewarded with Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow. At once in a familiar territory of reverb-heavy guitars, pads, and strings, the progressions are reminiscent of sound left over from Hammock's last masterpiece, Raising Your Voice... Trying To Stop An Echo. This recognition is not a mere coincidence. In 2007 Hammock was asked to play at the Riceboy Sleeps exhibit (the art project of Sigur Rós' Jón "Jónsi" Birgisson and Parachutes' Alex Somers) in a modest loft, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. But this was Hammock's first live PA, with no previous experience or sufficient budget to unleash their layered sonic ocean. A unique Hammock sound had to be created specifically for the live performance of the duo, using only their guitars, pedals, and synths. This stripped down version of Hammock revealed its essence at the core. Although the experience of live sound can never be repeated, its echo is shared with you, in this studio recording of the original music written for the occasion. And maybe... just maybe... they will sing for us tomorrow.

There are bands you listen to on a sunny day with the top down and the stereo cranked. Then there are bands that you listen to when something deep inside your soul wants to be still and quiet. Hammock is part of the latter and their newest album, "Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow," is certainly no exception. In fact, it is a prime example of some of their best work.

"Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow" plays essentially as one long track, which some listeners will see as a bad thing. And to a certain degree it is a bad thing as there are only two tracks that really stand out from the rest of the album ("Mono No Aware" and the title track). But to say the album is a disappointment due to that is to miss the point of it. This is not a CD that you pop in and sing along to; this is a CD that you play when reading a book or while driving down a quiet road in the middle of the night.

This is a CD that you become lost in until the very end. And then, you are still longing for more....

This album is one of the most amazing albums ever! I bought this cd and the previous one (Raising Your Voice... Trying to Stop an Echo) about 2 months ago and I haven't stopped listening to them yet. If you are into bands like Explosions In The Sky or Caspian... then this cd is for you!

"Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow" is Hammock at their most intimate. The band, recorded "live in the studio" with only minimal overdubs, play a more stripped back and delicate brand of ambient music on this release. The music was originally written as a live show during the North American premiere of Riceboy Sleeps' North American debut, and the end result is pristine, slow-moving, and nuanced music that is as achingly haunting as it is serene. Fans of Hammock and ambient music in general will generally love this music, though as another reviewer has noticed, this CD isn't as accessible as the other Hammock releases. Rather, it takes time to capture the listener's heart and mind, as its subtle melodies slowly appear and form throughout the CD. Another great release from this fine band!! Fans of Sigur Ros (Jonsi is part of Riceboy Sleeps, by the way, and contributed to the artwork of the CD), Windy and Carl, Mogwai, and other ambient bands will love this.

First I have to say that I loved all of Hammocks previous recordings. But this album is just terrible. All eleven songs are the same. All loop station effects with guitars volumed in and out, thats it. And come on, play more than three notes at a different speed. Hopefully they skip this simple sound and put more into your next album. Where did they hide the drum machine? And why is this recording over an hour long? I have never reviewed any music and I have thousands of recordings I listen to, but this just plain sucks. I was looking so forward to this album and got let down so much. Hammock was one of my favorites, but this is going in the trash-bin. Sorry guys, I still love your other recordings.

I used to listen to some of this kind of stuff from Projekt, but I haven't found much room for it lately, thought I'd give this a shot, being well reviewed and all the last few years. These two guys represent a very peaceful side of ambient . . . a little too peaceful. There's virtually no vocal presence (well, they won't sing for us today anyway), it almost all consists of synth calls and echoes, no other instruments. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's so unassuming it's hardly there at all, which kind of makes a mockery of the song titles, they could have just as easily numbered the tracks. I'm not sure what I would do with this music. It will appeal to some, but I need more meat on the bone.