Tim Hecker – No Highs (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Tim Hecker – No Highs (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:18 minutes | 884 MB | Genre: Electronic, Ambient
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © kranky

The latest by Canadian composer Tim Hecker serves as a beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive corporate ambient currently in vogue. Whether taken as warning or promise, No Highs delivers – this is music of austerity and ambiguity, purgatorial and seasick. A jagged anti-relaxant for our medicated age, rough-hewn and undefined.

Morse code pulse programming flickers like distress signals while a gathering storm of strings, noise, and low-end looms in the distance. Processed electronics shiver and shudder against pitch-shifting assemblages of crackling voltage, mantric horns (including exquisite modal sax by Colin Stetson), and cathedral keys. Throughout, the pieces both accrue and avoid drama, more attuned to undertow than crescendo. Hecker mentions “negation” as a muse of sorts – the sense of tumult without bombast, tethered ecstasies, an escape from escapism. His is an antagonism both brusque and beguiling, devoid of resolution, beckoning the listener ever deeper into its greyscale alchemies of magisterial disquiet.

No Highs is described as Tim Hecker’s reaction to the “false positive corporate ambient” featured in popular playlists on streaming services — some of which have given major exposure to Hecker’s own work. While Hecker’s music generally fits under the category of ambient, it’s never been the type of safe, soothing ambient solely meant to function as background music. His recordings can be harsh, abrasive, and disruptive, channeling chaos and unpredictability into absorbing compositions that can be downright devastating, depending on the listener’s emotional state. No Highs especially focuses on dealing with depression, anxiety, and isolation, and its pieces often feel nervous and unbalanced. “Monotony” begins with a post-minimalist pulse, with distorted synth clouds rising as sorrowful horns swoop downward. While the piece becomes thick with tension, it doesn’t reach the point of total breakdown, even as it grapples with conflicting emotions. The album’s other lengthy selections similarly float to the edge without tipping over, but there’s still a prevalent sense of fear and slight confusion. Other tracks are more compact bursts of desolation, such as “Total Garbage,” which brings to mind the way Ryuichi Sakamoto’s final albums reflected on mortality, yet reveals a greater sense of inner turmoil. Saxophonist Colin Stetson plays a major role in expressing these uneasy emotions, and he’s given the spotlight on “Monotony II,” performing a spellbinding sequence before dissolving into the ether. The final track bears the satirical title “Living Spa Water,” and while it does seem to convey a feeling of weightlessness, it’s somewhere between a replenishing bath and an out-of-body experience. – Paul Simpson

Tracklist:
1-01. Tim Hecker – Monotony (08:22)
1-02. Tim Hecker – Glissalia (02:58)
1-03. Tim Hecker – Total Garbage (02:40)
1-04. Tim Hecker – Lotus Light (08:31)
1-05. Tim Hecker – Winter Cop (02:35)
1-06. Tim Hecker – In your Mind (03:35)
1-07. Tim Hecker – Monotony II (02:57)
1-08. Tim Hecker – Pulse Depression (02:27)
1-09. Tim Hecker – Anxiety (08:16)
1-10. Tim Hecker – Sense Suppression (02:04)
1-11. Tim Hecker – Living Spa Water (06:46)

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