Love Streams
A brilliant, unsettling fusion of medieval choral arrangements and digital decay. Sacred vocal harmonies are shattered and rebuilt through modern software.
A brilliant, unsettling fusion of medieval choral arrangements and digital decay. Sacred vocal harmonies are shattered and rebuilt through modern software.
Choral reinvention
Choral voices drift through a digital blizzard, their holy harmonies warped and pixelated by cold software. You are left standing in a frozen cathedral where the sacred is beautifully, strangely broken.
In a striking departure from his typically wordless soundscapes, Hecker introduces chopped, pitch-shifted choral arrangements that sound like a medieval choir processed through a supercomputer.
Critics warmly received the album as a deeply immersive experience, praising its balance of welcoming accessibility and adventurous experimentation. Reviewers were particularly moved by the emotional sensitivity of these elegiac compositions, which offer a soothing sanctuary of soaring, beautiful sound.
“The album’s best tracks—“Castrati Stack” and the ambitious closer “Black Phase”—are also its most enveloping”Read review
“Ironically, it’s Hecker’s use of digital instrumentation that best approximates organic noise”Read review
“Like the sleazy glow of a neon cross, Love Streams is a beacon for sanctuary and salvation in these most unholy of modern times”Read review
“In Hecker’s uncanny knack for blending noise and ineffable sound together, he makes for a turbulent sonic trip that ultimately feels redemptive”Read review
“The word “immersive” is bandied about a lot, but Hecker’s work really is”Read review
“Doubt, disbelief, and uncertainty are conjured across Love Streams, both as bludgeoning buildups and tumbling segues”
“It feels like music aimed at the gut, rather than the head, which might explain its burgeoning appeal. In the best possible way, Love Streams is a draining listen”Read review
“This is not an ambient record that you can simply let wash over you, although it does sporadically lull you into that headspace”Read review
“Marks a subtle shift in Tim Hecker’s habitual style, a pivot away from his hazy trademark”Read review
“Tim Hecker and his accomplice Ben Frost are cooking up some of the most striking, beautiful, and genre-defying music of our time”Read review
“Easily Hecker’s most accessible work to date, yet it’s also one of his most challenging”Read review
“It’s alive and constantly evolving: a slippery beast of a record that you can try and get a hold of, but thankfully you probably never will”Read review
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