''Oblivion Hymns'' is the sixth studio album 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 November 26, 2013 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 ...

. The album cover for ''Oblivion Hymns'' was created as a commissioned piece by artist

Amy Pleasant Amy Pleasant (born 1972) is an American painter living and working in Birmingham, AL. Biography Pleasant received a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. Pleasant is best ...

Reception

''Oblivion Hymns'' was met with positive critical reception and hit No. 17 on the ''

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Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...

Album Chart in 2013. Mike Diver at '' Clash'' magazine loved the album, stating that ''Oblivion Hymns'' is "…some of the most blissful music Clash has ever had the luxury of bathing in. ammockhas gone on to become one of the foremost purveyors of affecting ambient post-rock on the scene."

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'', listed ''Oblivion Hymns'' as No. 8 in the "25 Essential Echoes CDs for 2013" as an album that represented the best, most innovative aspects of the ambient music soundscape in the past year, stating that "Hammock goes deeper into their ambient chamber music with children’s choirs emerging out of swirling deeply processed guitars." Echoes also selected Oblivion Hymns as the CD of the Month for January 2014. Fred Pessaro, writing for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

'' magazine's ''Noisey'' site, stated that the music of ''Oblivion Hymns'' is "expansive and dramatic ambient post-rock… the kind that would fit perfectly as a soundtrack to a film." In his review for

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-p ...

, Don Yates notes how Hammock "reworks their ambient post-rock sound on their latest album, moving in a more neo classical musical direction while adding a string quartet, horns, accordion, glockenspiel, a children’s choir and more to their layers of atmospheric shoegazer guitars for an often-transportive set of glacial instrumentals." KEXP also charted ''Oblivion Hymns'' at No. 7 in the KEXP Variety Music Chart for December 2013 and named the first track, "My Mind Was a Fog... My Heart Became a Bomb" as Song of the Day on January 8, 2014. Raul Stanciu, writing for ''Sputnikmusic'', felt that ''Oblivion Hymns'' is a "natural progression to ammock'stranscending discography. This neoclassical-meets-post-rock direction opens new doors…", while Elizabeth Klisiewicz, writing for ''

The Big Takeover ''The Big Takeover'' is a bi-annual music magazine published out of New York City since May 1980 by critic Jack Rabid. History Establishment Jack Rabid and Dave Stein began publishing ''The Big Takeover'' in May 1980 as a fanzine dedicated to N ...

'', described how songs on the record are "stuffed full of emotion, as necan imagine… standing on the edge of an infinite abyss, marvelling… Hammock’s music draws out such powerful emotions that one can be blinded with joy even while tears blur your vision. Perhaps it’s like witnessing a miracle, albeit a sonic one." A feature for the October 2013 issue of ''

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'' stated that ''Oblivion Hymns'' "rewrites Hammock's script, bringing strings to the fore in a manner that would make composer

Max Richter Max Richter (; ; born 22 March 1966) is a German-born British composer and pianist. He works within postminimalist and contemporary classical styles. Richter is classically trained, having graduated in composition from the University of Edinbur ...

or Hammock's peers in

A Winged Victory for the Sullen A Winged Victory for the Sullen is an American ambient music duo composed of Dustin O'Halloran and Adam Wiltzie. They have released four studio albums, an EP, and one soundtrack album. In 2015, they performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part ...

proud."

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

's Alt/Indie Spotlight highlighted Hammock's music video for "I Could Hear The Water at the Edge of All Things" via Vevo's

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feed, calling the video both "tragic" and "incredibly beautiful."

Track listing

References

{{Authority control Hammock (band) albums Hammock Music albums 2013 albums