Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts

Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts
Studio album by Hammock
Released May 18, 2010
Genre Ambient, post-rock
Length 72:39
Label Hammock Music
Producer Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson
Hammock chronology
Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow
(2008)		 Chasing After Shadows...Living With the Ghosts
(2010)		 Chasing After Shadows... Living With the Ghosts (Outtakes) EP
(2010)

Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts is the fifth studio album by American ambient/post-rock band Hammock. It was released on May 18, 2010 by the band's own label, Hammock Music.

In addition to the standard edition, Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts was released in a limited edition format with a photobook and four-track EP titled North West East South. The album received generally positive reviews. Critics praised the songwriting and production, though some reviewers criticized the album's length.

Background

After releasing the minimalistic Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow in 2008, Hammock wanted to create an album with "a very full atmosphere"[1]\. Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow was designed by band members Andrew Thompson and Marc Byrd to be played in a live setting. "After creating something so limited, we wanted to be more open to approaching a bigger production with this album," Thompson said.[2] "It wasn't like an intentional reaction to Maybe rather it felt like a natural progression of what we wanted to do at the time", the band commented. "As an artist, that's the voice you have to follow."[1]

Music

The band described Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts as "[their] most bombastic record so far",[3] though Byrd noted that some songs are completely ambient.[2] The band described the album as "more organic",[3] featuring real drums, a horn section and a string quartet in addition to the cello parts which feature on previous albums.[2] Byrd and Thompson both regard the album as "different"[2] to their previous releases, with Thompson describing it as "a natural step forward, the right way to go".[2]

Byrd and Thompson were inspired by the landscape of the Deep South, where they both grew up, and from "an understanding of the impermanence of life. When we look at this aspect of the human experience straight in the face we have a greater appreciation of life but at the same time we also experience a deep sense of melancholy."[3] They cited atmospheric artists such as Brian Eno, William Basinski, Stars of the Lid, Cocteau Twins, The Church and The Cure as influences, in addition to more cinematic acts, including Sigur Rós, Max Richter, Johann Johannsson and Arvo Pärt.[3]

Composition

Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts was written by the band by introducing "almost every idea we have"[1] and then "[criticizing themselves] to death".[1] Byrd and Thompson started with over 50 song ideas, which they narrowed down to the 12 tracks which appeared on the album.[2] Byrd noted that over time, they had become better at "trimming the fat",[2] by shortening pieces and sometimes removing entire songs from the album. "One of the best things about working on Hammock is that there is no ego here - we don’t get our feelings hurt when an idea is not working," he said. "We just cut it and move on to the next one."[2]

Byrd was responsible for naming most of the album's songs. He drew from poetry, film, literature and "[his] own thoughts and experience",[2] writing names down as they came to him. Track titles were then paired up with songs at the end of the album's production.[2]

Release and promotion

Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts was released on May 18, 2010 in the US and June 14, 2010 in the UK.[4] The band made outtakes from the album available online.[5] A limited edition of the album, featuring a photobook and four-track EP titled North West East South, was also released.[6] The album's title described "only seeing the shadow of things and not their reality".[3] "Living with the Ghosts" symbolizes the idea of living with memories or losses.[2] The band stated that the use of ellipsis "both continues and separates a thought."[3]

Hammock collaborator Thomas Petillo created the album's artwork while travelling through the Deep South with Byrd and Thompson. The figures floating in water were photographed at Hot Springs, Arkansas. Some described the cover as "morbid";[2] however, Petillo intended the cover to represent rebirth.[7] A music video for the song "Breathturn" was made by David Altobelli. Altobelli chose "Breathturn" from one of several songs sent to him by Byrd and Thompson. He then sent a treatment for the track to Byrd and Thompson, who "loved it",[2] noting that the final video did not differ significantly from the initial draft.[2]

The band scheduled one show in June 2010 in support of Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts; however, it was canceled due to the 2010 Tennessee floods.[2] This show was rescheduled to September 11, 2010 in Hot Springs. Byrd and Thompson were augmented onstage by Matt Slocum.[8] Byrd stated that the band wanted to go on a full tour, but had no definite plans.[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
BBC(favorable)[9]
Drowned in Sound[10]
Pitchfork Media(7.3/10)[11]
PopMatters[4]
The Silent Ballet[12]

Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts was met with positive critical reception. Writing for the BBC, Mike Diver ranked it as "one of the most beautiful albums of this year."[9] James Mason of Allmusic noted that "As objective a concept as perfection is, it is hard to think of what Hammock have achieved here as anything else."[8] Ryan Reed of PopMatters described the album as "perfect sonic accompaniment for the half-dreams that plague a restless sleep."[4]

Critics noted that the album featured "a slight move toward more conventional rock structures"[11] and more acoustic textures than their previous releases,[8] but that fans of Hammock's previous releases would still enjoy it.[4][11] When comparing the album with Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow, Diver criticized the album for feeling "uncomfortably boxed in, its textures equally rich but unable to flow in the manner its makers previously permitted."[9]

Joe Tangari of Pitchfork described the music as "intensely visual... you really get the sense of shapes shifting and forms moving."[11] Mason praised the album's songwriting. "The temptation to slip into melodrama with music like Hammock's must be immense, but Byrd and Thompson know when to push over the top and when to pull back, take in the surrounding view, and pour that beauty into their songs," he said. "The exhilarating thing about this record is that they walk this line, between being at the top and going over."[8] Ferguson felt the strings were underused on the album, noting that "when they do come to the fore, the arrangements are excellent."[10] The album's production was praised by Mason.[8] Reed said his favorite moments were those where "the surprising details creep in".[4] In contrast, Diver described the production as "patchy".[9]

The album's length was noted by reviewers. Mason praised the album for "[working] as an entire piece, not a mere collection of songs."[8] Tangari said the album was "easy to luxuriate in for its full run time."[11] Writing for Drowned In Sound, Robert Ferguson praised the opening three tracks, but felt that "from here is where Chasing After Shadows... starts to feel a bit samey."[10] "Halfway through the album... the euphoria starts to wear off," Reed said, "and it becomes difficult not to beg for a fresh chord change or a new instrument."[4]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson. 

No. Title Length
1. "The Backward Step"   4:58
2. "Tristia"   5:46
3. "Little Fly/Mouchette"   5:52
4. "Breathturn"   6:00
5. "In the Nothing of a Night"   8:48
6. "Andalusia"   7:42
7. "The Whole Catastrophe"   3:52
8. "The World We Knew As Children"   5:39
9. "Dust Is the Devil's Snow"   6:43
10. "How Can I Make You Remember Me?"   4:55
11. "You Lost the Starlight in Your Eyes"   9:14
12. "Something Other Than Remaining"   3:10
Total length:
 72:39

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Andujar, Carlos (2010-12-10). "Trying to Feel the Winter... A Conversation with Hammock". Synconation. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Benson, Nikki (2010-08-15). "Interview: Hammock". The Silent Ballet. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alia, Lueda (2010-08-26). "Hammock 08.26.10 - Interview". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reed, Ryan (2010-07-30). "Hammock: Chasing After Shadows...Living With the Ghosts". PopMatters. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  5. ↑ "Hammock | Music > Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts and Outtakes (2010)". Hammock Music. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  6. ↑ "Hammock | Music > North West East South (2010)". Hammock Music. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  7. ↑ Lopez, Samuel Valdes (2010-09-29). "Hammock // The 405 Interview". The 405. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Burleson, Ryan. "With their ambient project Hammock, two industry veterans pull fresh breath from the ether". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Diver, Mike (2010-07-12). "Hammock Chasing After Shadows… Living With the Ghosts Review". BBC. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  10. 1 2 3 Ferguson, Robert (2010-07-20). "Hammock - Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Tangari, Joe (2010-06-16). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Hammock: Chasing After Shadows... Living with the Ghosts". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  12. ↑ Nguyen, Mac (2010-05-16). "Hammock - Chasing After Shadows... Living With the Ghosts". The Silent Ballet. Retrieved 2011-08-06.

External links

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