Tim Hecker- An Imaginary Country

Tim Hecker- An Imaginary Country

Fuck Buttons piss me off. This may seem like a bizarre way to start a review of the latest album of perhaps the greatest figure in the sometimes-confusing world of ambient drone; but let me proceed. Ever fucker has jumped on the bandwagon throwing all kinds of superlatives at Fuck Buttons, usually some hyperbolic rubbish about “sonic landscapes” or some awful prose like that. Don’t get me wrong, I like nothing more than two figures hunched over a plethora of laptops, samplers, assembled FX units, making loud noises, but to hark Fuck Buttons as the Second Coming of Noise, is massively OTT. That’s not to say if you like Fuck Buttons, you won’t like Imaginary Country, because YOU WILL, that’s that point- throw away your copy of Tarot Sport and get your sweaty mits on a copy of Imaginary Country.

Right, long introduction out the way, lets get down to business. Tim Hecker has been for the last 5-6 years creating the most invigorating drone that you will hear, wrapping hisses and fuzzy noise into intriguing interludes of music, but never before has Hecker producing something so beautiful. Imaginary Country is an album designed for travel- the way the sounds float and flutter and pan from one side of your conciousness to another, it evokes the rhythm but also sparseness and loneliness of travel. The album is divided into tracks but it may as well be one piece of music, as each track flows into one another, which gives it this chilling fluidity which completely encapsulates you as the listener, and induces an image of this An Imaginary Country, which is truly chilling.

If you want a noisey, fuzzy album that is easily digestible and easily disposable, go and buy a copy of Tarot Sport. If you want an album to spend time with, and to learn something new about after every listen, then fuck Fuck Buttons, and enter Hecker’s world. Remember: keep your receipt for Tarot Sport….you’ll be needing it…..

If you like Tim Hecker, try : William Basinski, Growing, Belong, Stars of the Lid

9.3