Hammock – Mysterium

Silencia is the latest collection of evocative and lustrous compositions by the Nashville duo Hammock. The band’s 10th LP, Silencia closes a trilogy that began with 2017’s Mysterium, and—in the tradition of works by Arvo Pärt and Georgy Sviridov, and writers such as Li-Young Li and Maggie Ross—it is a balm, gesturing at the healing that can ascend in silence. Slow-churning and contemplative, Silencia most prominently features strings orchestrated by Viktor Orri Árnason (Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds), mists of guitar by Hammock’s Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson, the hushed drone of horns, and 20 elegiac voices from the Budapest Art Choir. The record was mixed and mastered by Francesco Donadello (Winged Victory for the Sullen, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Ben Frost) in Berlin. Founded in 2003, Hammock’s music has appeared widely in film and television, and it has been praised by The Wire, NPR, Pitchfork, The Atlantic, and other major culture media.