''Departure Songs'' is the fifth studio album (and first

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

) by American

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

band

Hammock A hammock (from Spanish , borrowed from Taíno and Arawak ) is a sling made of fabric, rope, or netting, suspended between two or more points, used for swing (seat), swinging, sleeping, or Human relaxation, resting. It normally consists of one ...

. It was released on October 2, 2012 by the band's own label,

Hammock Music Hammock Music, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the label imprint owned and operated by the band Hammock. The label is distributed by Secretly Distribution. In 2015, Hammock Music signed Slow Meadow, an ambient music project by Matt Kidd, to ...

Reception

''Departure Songs'' was met with positive critical reception.

John Diliberto ''Echoes'' is a daily two-hour music radio program hosted by John Diliberto featuring a soundscape of ambient, space, electronica, and new-age music. The program features in-depth artist interviews and intimate "living room" performances. Inte ...

, the host of '' Echoes'', named ''Departure Songs'' the No. 1 album of the year for 2012 in his annual year-end "Top 10 Albums" list. Elizabeth Klisiewicz, writing for ''The Headphone Commute'', stated that "Hammock go massive as they meditate on grand themes of death and loss, their music ever larger, more expansive." Jordan Dowling at ''Contactmusic.com'' described the album as "where it all comes together. Every disparate strand and sound conjured over the past eight years is no longer separated by song or by album, but layered on top of each other on a release that encompasses and near enough perfects the depth and breadth of the Nashville duo's back-catalogue." Matt Gilley at Fluid Radio posited that the album is "probably the closest thing to an ambient/post-rock opera anyone has ever written, and if anyone is ever going to write one, it'll probably be Hammock." Ned Raggett noted in his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

that "if Hammock's fifth album is something of an extension and consolidation of their past work... it's also a flat-out triumphant one."

Artwork

The additional artwork featured a theatre, with posters on the windows displaying the words "Chansons de Départ", which is French for "Departure Songs".

Track listing

References

{{Authority control Hammock (band) albums Hammock Music albums 2012 albums