#313 Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972

For the first time in a while, Fork'd.

Why? Why do I bother with this kind of stuff. I guess because its amicable to working while programming. But it is simply not a genre I have anything useful to say about. Which, I guess means that its fine for listening to - I'm not going to not listen to it just because I don't want to have to struggle to write a review - but its not really all that worthwhile as review fodder.

There's some noises, they echo, they crackle, they surge. There's no beat. Pretty, noisy, scary surges though.

I will grant it this, In the Fog (parts 1-3!) is legitimately unsettling. Its spooky on a level I can't place. But the fact is, this isn't fun to listen to, and I think there's plenty of more interesting chin-scratchery to be found. Plus, with song titles like Hatred of Music, Analog Paralysis 1978, and Studio Suicide (to say nothing of the album title!), I get the idea that Hecker thinks this is more important than I do. It sounds like dubstep without the bass or the beats, a step past The King of Limbs.

Look, I kind of respect this. It is spooky and affecting in a way that I don't often find. But this is not my style of music, and I have to stop trying to wring reviews from places my heart can't provide. Possibly brilliant, I wouldn't know. It occurs to me that if this was a Radiohead album, I might listen closer and find brilliance in the crannies. But my first impression didn't blow me away, just not for me 2/5