CD Tip

"Silencia" by Hammock

The Nashville ambient duo Hammock, triggered by the loss of a young relative, set out in 2017 to compose and record a trilogy of albums exploring the stages of grief. That year, they came out with "Mysterium," followed in 2018 by "Universalis" and, this week, released the finale, "Silencia." If the sky was sound, this mournful but beautiful and ultimately healing group of songs slowly shifts from the dark overcast of despair and longing to slowly accelerating clouds with splinters of sunlight filtering through. Hammock, comprised of Andrew Thompson and Mark Byrd, are at the leading edge of the new-classical sound represented by Nils Frahm and Ólafur Arnalds, twisting off from the work of folks like Arvo Pärt. "Silencia" works magically as a stand-along, but in almost celestial fashion as part of the whole trilogy.