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m Dating maintenance tags: {{Use mdy dates}} {{Use Canadian English}}
clean up, typo(s) fixed: April 7, 2023 → April 7, 2023,, ically- → ically
 
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{{Infobox album
| name = No Highs
| name = No Highs
| type = studio album
| type = studio album
| artist = Tim Hecker
| artist = [[Tim Hecker]]
| cover = File:Tim Hecker No Highs.webp
| cover = File:Tim Hecker No Highs.webp
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{{use Canadian English|date=August 2023}}
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'''''No Highs''''' is the eleventh studio album by Canadian [[Ambient music|ambient]] musician [[Tim Hecker]], released on April 7, 2023, via [[Kranky (record label)|Kranky]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=2023-04-07 |title=Tim Hecker: No Highs review – ambient music that reflects our polluted world |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/07/tim-hecker-no-highs-review |access-date=2023-08-23 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
⚫
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
⚫
'''''No Highs''''' is the eleventh studio album by American [[Ambient music|ambient]] musician [[Tim Hecker]], released on April 7, 2023 via [[Kranky (record label)|Kranky]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=2023-04-07 |title=Tim Hecker: No Highs review – ambient music that reflects our polluted world |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/07/tim-hecker-no-highs-review |access-date=2023-08-23 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>


== Background ==
== Background ==
[[File:Tim Hecker (43845085861).jpg|thumb|Hecker in 2018|left|150px]]
[[File:Tim Hecker (43845085861).jpg|thumb|Hecker in 2018|left|150px]]
The album's [[liner notes]] discussed [[ambient music]]'s place in the modern era. The notes read "[the album] serves as a beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive corporate ambient currently in vogue".<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Attard |first=Paul |date=2023-04-07 |title=Tim Hecker 'No Highs' Review: A Forebodingly Restless Album |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/tim-hecker-no-highs-album-review/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=[[Slant Magazine]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The album is Hecker's reaction to this "soothing", corporate ambient,<ref name=":1" /> as shown in the album's anxious and fretful sound.<ref name=":5" /> The album was also seen as a response to the rise of ambient music on [[Music streaming service|streaming services]], which, according to [[The Guardian|''The Guardian'']], "[threatens to] reduce ambient to a genre of convenience".<ref name=":3" /> [[Pitchfork (website)|''Pitchfork'']] wrote that "ambient music is in crisis" due to the abundance of channels on streaming services which "guarantee hours of chilled-out, challenge-free audio".<ref name=":0" />
The album's [[liner notes]] discussed [[ambient music]]'s place in the modern era. The notes read "[the album] serves as a beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive corporate ambient currently in vogue".<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Attard |first=Paul |date=2023-04-07 |title=Tim Hecker 'No Highs' Review: A Forebodingly Restless Album |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/tim-hecker-no-highs-album-review/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=[[Slant Magazine]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The album is Hecker's reaction to this "soothing", corporate ambient,<ref name=":1" /> as shown in the album's anxious and fretful sound.<ref name=":5" /> The album was also seen as a response to the rise of ambient music on [[Music streaming service|streaming services]], which, according to ''[[The Guardian]]'', "[threatens to] reduce ambient to a genre of convenience".<ref name=":3" /> [[Pitchfork (website)|''Pitchfork'']] wrote that "ambient music is in crisis" due to the abundance of channels on streaming services which "guarantee hours of chilled-out, challenge-free audio".<ref name=":0" />


== Music ==
== Music ==
''No Highs'' is an ambient album.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Kompys2000 |title=Review: Tim Hecker - No Highs |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/86717/Tim-Hecker-No-Highs/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=Sputnikmusic}}</ref> The album is departure of the sound of Hecker's last two albums, and was described by ''Pitchfork'' as "less confrontational".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Bromfield |first=Daniel |title=Tim Hecker: No Highs |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tim-hecker-no-highs/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> According to [[AllMusic]], ''No Highs'' is about "dealing with depression, anxiety, and isolation" which reflects in the nervous tone of the music.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Simpson |first=Paul |title=Tim Hecker - No Highs Album Reviews, Songs & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/no-highs-mw0003923785 |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=[[AllMusic]] |language=en}}</ref> [[The Skinny (magazine)|''The Skinny'']] wrote that the album attempts to portray the contemporaneous era, and its sounds evoke "dead horizons and husk cityscapes".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Creely |first=Joe |title=Tim Hecker album review: No Highs |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/tim-hecker-no-highs |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=[[The Skinny (magazine)|The Skinny]] |language=en}}</ref> According to Sputnikmusic, the album is "profoundly lonely-feeling".<ref name=":4" />
''No Highs'' is an ambient album.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Kompys2000 |title=Review: Tim Hecker - No Highs |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/86717/Tim-Hecker-No-Highs/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=Sputnikmusic}}</ref> The album is departure of the sound of Hecker's last two albums, and was described by ''Pitchfork'' as "less confrontational".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Bromfield |first=Daniel |title=Tim Hecker: No Highs |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tim-hecker-no-highs/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> According to [[AllMusic]], ''No Highs'' is about "dealing with depression, anxiety, and isolation" which reflects in the nervous tone of the music.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Simpson |first=Paul |title=Tim Hecker - No Highs Album Reviews, Songs & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/no-highs-mw0003923785 |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=[[AllMusic]] |language=en}}</ref> [[The Skinny (magazine)|''The Skinny'']] wrote that the album attempts to portray the contemporaneous era, and its sounds evoke "dead horizons and husk cityscapes".<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Creely |first=Joe |title=Tim Hecker album review: No Highs |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/tim-hecker-no-highs |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=[[The Skinny (magazine)|The Skinny]] |language=en}}</ref> According to Sputnikmusic, the album is "profoundly lonely-feeling".<ref name=":4" />


The eight-minute opener "Monotony" begins with a [[Morse code|Morse]]-like [[Postminimalism#Music|post-minimalist]] pulse, before "sweeping" synths and a [[church organ]] are added.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> According to ''Pitchfork'', this organ is a signature sound of Hecker.<ref name=":0" /> "Total Garbage" includes playing by saxophonist [[Colin Stetson]].<ref name=":4" /> "Lotus Light" helps portray the album's anxious mood through "a loud, high-pitched beeping noise".<ref name=":5" /> “In Your Mind” uses a sequencer pattern which has a fluctuating tempo.<ref name=":0" /> Stetson also plays on “Monotony II”.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> Pitchfork compared the final two tracks, “Sense Suppression” and “Living Spa Water”, to early ambient music.<ref name=":0" /> The satirically-titled “Living Spa Water” was described by AllMusic as conveying "somewhere between a replenishing bath and an out-of-body experience".<ref name=":1" />
The eight-minute opener "Monotony" begins with a [[Morse code|Morse]]-like [[Postminimalism#Music|post-minimalist]] pulse, before "sweeping" synths and a [[church organ]] are added.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> According to ''Pitchfork'', this organ is a signature sound of Hecker.<ref name=":0" /> "Total Garbage" includes playing by saxophonist [[Colin Stetson]].<ref name=":4" /> "Lotus Light" helps portray the album's anxious mood through "a loud, high-pitched beeping noise".<ref name=":5" /> "In Your Mind" uses a sequencer pattern which has a fluctuating tempo.<ref name=":0" /> Stetson also plays on "Monotony II".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" /> Pitchfork compared the final two tracks, "Sense Suppression" and "Living Spa Water", to early ambient music.<ref name=":0" /> The satirically titled "Living Spa Water" was described by AllMusic as conveying "somewhere between a replenishing bath and an out-of-body experience".<ref name=":1" />


== Critical reception ==
== Critical reception ==
{{Music ratings
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = ''[[The Skinny (magazine)|The Skinny]]''
| rev4 = ''[[The Skinny (magazine)|The Skinny]]''
| rev1score = {{stars|3|5}}<ref name=":2" />
| rev4score = {{stars|3|5}}<ref name=":2" />
| rev2 = Sputnikmusic
| rev6 = Sputnikmusic
| rev2score = 4.0 / 5<ref name=":4" />
| rev6score = 4.0/5<ref name=":4" />
| rev3 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev2 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev3score = {{stars|4|5}}<ref name=":3" />
| rev2score = {{stars|4|5}}<ref name=":3" />
| rev4 = [[Pitchfork (website)|''Pitchfork'']]
| rev3 = [[Pitchfork (website)|''Pitchfork'']]
| rev4score = 7.2 / 10<ref name=":0" />
| rev3score = 7.2/10<ref name=":0" />
| rev5 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev5score = {{stars|3.5|5}}<ref name=":1" />
| rev1score = {{stars|3.5|5}}<ref name=":1" />
| rev6 = ''[[Slant Magazine]]''
| rev5 = ''[[Slant Magazine]]''
| rev6score = {{stars|3.5|5}}<ref name=":5" />
| rev5score = {{stars|3.5|5}}<ref name=":5" />
| MC = 77<ref name=":6" />
| MC = 77/100<ref name=":6" />
}}
}}
No Highs received positive reviews from critics. {{Metacritic album prose|No Highs|generally favorable|77|11}}<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=No Highs by Tim Hecker |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/no-highs/tim-hecker |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=[[Metacritic]] |language=en}}</ref>
No Highs received positive reviews from critics. {{Metacritic album prose|No Highs|generally favorable|77|11}}<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=No Highs by Tim Hecker |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/no-highs/tim-hecker |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=[[Metacritic]] |language=en}}</ref>
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# "Lotus Light" – 8:31
# "Lotus Light" – 8:31
# "Winter Cop" – 2:35
# "Winter Cop" – 2:35
# "In your Mind" – 3:35
# "In Your Mind" – 3:35
# "Monotony II" (feat. [[Colin Stetson]]) – 2:57
# "Monotony II" (feat. [[Colin Stetson]]) – 2:57
# "Pulse Depression" – 2:27
# "Pulse Depression" – 2:27
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{{Tim Hecker}}
{{Tim Hecker}}

[[Category:2023 albums]]
[[Category:2023 albums]]
[[Category:Kranky albums]]
[[Category:Kranky (record label) albums]]
[[Category:Ambient albums by Canadian artists]]
[[Category:Ambient albums by Canadian artists]]
[[Category:Tim Hecker albums]]
[[Category:Tim Hecker albums]]

Latest revision as of 00:39, 31 July 2024

No Highs
Studio album by
Tim Hecker
ReleasedApril 7, 2023
GenreAmbient
Length51:18
LabelKranky
Tim Hecker chronology
Anoyo
(2019) 		No Highs
(2023)

No Highs is the eleventh studio album by Canadian ambient musician Tim Hecker, released on April 7, 2023, via Kranky.[1]

Background

[edit]
Hecker in 2018

The album's liner notes discussed ambient music's place in the modern era. The notes read "[the album] serves as a beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive corporate ambient currently in vogue".[2] The album is Hecker's reaction to this "soothing", corporate ambient,[3] as shown in the album's anxious and fretful sound.[2] The album was also seen as a response to the rise of ambient music on streaming services, which, according to The Guardian, "[threatens to] reduce ambient to a genre of convenience".[1] Pitchfork wrote that "ambient music is in crisis" due to the abundance of channels on streaming services which "guarantee hours of chilled-out, challenge-free audio".[4]

Music

[edit]

No Highs is an ambient album.[5] The album is departure of the sound of Hecker's last two albums, and was described by Pitchfork as "less confrontational".[4] According to AllMusic, No Highs is about "dealing with depression, anxiety, and isolation" which reflects in the nervous tone of the music.[3] The Skinny wrote that the album attempts to portray the contemporaneous era, and its sounds evoke "dead horizons and husk cityscapes".[6] According to Sputnikmusic, the album is "profoundly lonely-feeling".[5]

The eight-minute opener "Monotony" begins with a Morse-like post-minimalist pulse, before "sweeping" synths and a church organ are added.[4][3] According to Pitchfork, this organ is a signature sound of Hecker.[4] "Total Garbage" includes playing by saxophonist Colin Stetson.[5] "Lotus Light" helps portray the album's anxious mood through "a loud, high-pitched beeping noise".[2] "In Your Mind" uses a sequencer pattern which has a fluctuating tempo.[4] Stetson also plays on "Monotony II".[4][5] Pitchfork compared the final two tracks, "Sense Suppression" and "Living Spa Water", to early ambient music.[4] The satirically titled "Living Spa Water" was described by AllMusic as conveying "somewhere between a replenishing bath and an out-of-body experience".[3]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Guardian[1]
Pitchfork7.2/10[4]
The Skinny[6]
Slant Magazine[2]
Sputnikmusic4.0/5[5]

No Highs received positive reviews from critics. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, No Highs received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 from 11 critic scores.[7]

Paul Attard of Slant Magazine praised the album's atmosphere and dynamic sounds, but found some tracks like "Winter Cop" and "Sense Suppression" underwhelming in comparison to the rest of the album.[2] Kompys2000 of Sputnikmusic described the album's sounds as "frequently gorgeous and sometimes even transcendent", but the album can seem standoffish in comparison to Hecker's other works.[5]

Joe Creely of The Skinny criticized the album's lack of focus and said it didn't stand out compared to previous work. Creely praised some "moments of tremendous beauty", including parts of the tracks "Monotony II" and "Total Garbage".[6] Daniel Bromfield of Pitchfork found the album "muted" and unwilling to take risks in comparison to his earlier albums, such as Harmony in Ultraviolet or Ravedeath, 1972.[4]

Track listing

[edit]
  1. "Monotony" – 8:22
  2. "Glissalia" – 2:58
  3. "Total Garbage" – 2:40
  4. "Lotus Light" – 8:31
  5. "Winter Cop" – 2:35
  6. "In Your Mind" – 3:35
  7. "Monotony II" (feat. Colin Stetson) – 2:57
  8. "Pulse Depression" – 2:27
  9. "Anxiety" – 8:16
  10. "Sense Suppression" – 2:04
  11. "Living Spa Water" – 6:46

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Monroe, Jazz (April 7, 2023). "Tim Hecker: No Highs review – ambient music that reflects our polluted world". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Attard, Paul (April 7, 2023). "Tim Hecker 'No Highs' Review: A Forebodingly Restless Album". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Simpson, Paul. "Tim Hecker - No Highs Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bromfield, Daniel. "Tim Hecker: No Highs". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Kompys2000. "Review: Tim Hecker - No Highs". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 23, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b c Creely, Joe. "Tim Hecker album review: No Highs". The Skinny. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "No Highs by Tim Hecker". Metacritic. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
[edit]
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