ALBUM REVIEW: Tim Hecker - No Highs

    Tim Hecker has been composing ambient music for more than two decades now, and in that time Hecker has released a steady body of work that includes acclaimed albums, EPs, and even a few soundtracks for TV and film (of course, a film soundtrack is the natural next step for any serious composer, right?). Of course, I'm not overly familiar with Hecker's work (or that much ambient stuff admittedly, even if I know the essentials like Aphex Twin, the Minecraft Soundtrack, and Fart Lunge), so I wasn't entirely sure what to get out of No Highs until I jumped in myself. Well, No Highs is far from a fitting name in terms of the album's quality - Hecker's skills as a composer were immediately evident to me on this album, with color landscapes and unique textures throughout the entire album. It was a very satisfying and relaxing work through and through, and a more than solid introduction to the composer in my book.

    Across the 51-minute album, Hecker's sprawling compositions throughout the album contain two major strong points that serve as a through-line for the album - an excellent flow and a fascinating set of compositions, all of them more than willing to coat themselves with unique ideas and sounds to keep you in the zone. By far the strongest aspect of the album, to me, is that ebb and flow from one moment to another. I love the way that each track bleeds into the next, creating a seamless feel that makes for a great unifying feel across the album - the best example of this is the first few tracks which creates an almost fantastical suite of songs. Although this is certainly the strongest example, the album doesn't ever really slow its roll or lose that momentum, even during some weaker individual moments like the somewhat short "Sense Suppression" during the latter half of the album. It creates a body of work that's generally greater than the sum of its parts throughout, best heard from start to finish rather than as individual moments.

    Then of course there's the composition themselves, which are filled with oceans of character, especially with the added saxophone on a few tracks - credit to Colin Stetson in that department, who gives this added layer to the tracks, mainly on the reprise of "Monotony". Speaking of, both versions of "Monotony" are not only excellently composed and brilliantly building in momentum, but they split the album up very neatly - I like to think of each version of the track as the beginning of a "suite" that consists of each album chunk. Whether or not that was the intention is for Hecker to know, but it works. "Lotus Light" is similar to "Monotony" in some aspects, but contains its own warped feel and off-kilter production that makes it in some ways the greatest track on the album. The punching uncertainly of the aptly named "Anxiety" wasn't a favorite first time around, but it has begun to grow on me, and probably stands as the album's most atmospheric and unique track, although the dreamlike "Living Spa Water" does certainly come close.

    Hecker is a new find on my musical journey, and I can certainly say that No Highs has given me a positive introduction to the composer's work. It's a vast and creative ambient work with a consistently brilliant flow to all of its tracks and an abundant use of various timbres and textures throughout its time. While it's not necessarily the most fantastic when broken down, the sum of the parts creates a very good release to throw on in the background and be taken away by. For an album named No Highs, there's quite a few fantastic moments, here.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to No Highs.