When it comes to the developing armada of noise-ambient, Hecker is at the forefront, with Harmony in Ultraviolet sheathed to his side. Considering his recent work with instrumental acts such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Fly Pan Am, and Isis, it's not a surprise that his name is becoming more ubiquitous throughout the vocal-less genres.
Beauty is typically a very obvious thing to the human mind. It often stands out through blatant contrast. However, unlike much electronic music, Harmony in Ultraviolet is a perfect example of how beauty can be a product of often over-looked subtlety. To many listeners, the music is indeed nothing but a bland wall of noise. But as we see in songs such as Dungeoneering, with backwashed loops ebbing and flowing, Tim Hecker sneaks layers of dissonance into a world of his own.
To say Ultraviolet is all beauty would be a lie; there are certainly some darker tones. Many of these songs could fit well into a Darren Aronofsky film. The more morbid sounding elements may be unwanted, considering Hecker's keen ear for beauty. However, the darker feeling only helps make the album complete. In fact, that's exactly what Ultraviolet is: complete.
Despite his most recent work's completeness, it seems as though the particular sound Hecker is going for is unrefined. Beautiful, but unrefined. While the music is moving in every unique way possible, it also lacks the sort of perfect execution we would expect from Hecker. One gets the feeling that there is a new sound developing within Hecker that's waiting to be unleashed in full force. It's as if Ultraviolet is an experiment, the trial and error before a final thesis can be formulated.
Due to the theme of drowned-out instruments and loud noise, I'm tempted to compare Ultraviolet with m83's Dead Cities, Read Seas & Lost Ghosts, or Fennesz' Venice. But that wouldn't be doing this album justice, due to its potential as a groundbreaking piece of art. Hecker is taking noise-ambient and slowly creating his own sub-genre of music; it's monumental work that deserves recognition among the likes of Sunn O))) for drone and Isis for instrumental metal. Harmony in Ultraviolet is like a freshly mined gem, waiting to be chiseled into flawlessness.| Reviewer: Jim Pearse Added: January 4th 2007 |
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