Love Streams (album) explained

Love Streams
Type:studio
Artist:Tim Hecker
Cover:Love Streams (Front Cover).png
Released:April 8, 2016
Recorded:2014–2015
Studio:Greenhouse Studios, Reykjavík, Iceland
Genre:Experimental
Length:42:49
Prev Title:Virgins
Prev Year:2013
Next Title:Konoyo
Next Year:2018

Love Streams is the eighth studio album by Canadian electronic music musician Tim Hecker, released on April 8, 2016 on 4AD and Paper Bag Records.[1] The album was recorded throughout 2014 and 2015 at Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavík, Iceland, where parts of Hecker's last two albums Virgins (2013) and Ravedeath, 1972 (2011) were recorded.[2]

Background and recording

The album features Kara-Lis Coverdale and Grímur Helgason, who were both collaborators on Hecker's last album Virgins, as well as contributions from the Icelandic Choir Ensemble, whose vocal arrangements were scored by Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson. Hecker professed to having thought about ideas like "liturgical aesthetics after Yeezus" and the "transcendental voice in the age of auto-tune" during its creation.[3]

Critical reception

Love Streams received universal acclaim from critics. On the aggregate score site Metacritic, the album scored at 82 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim". Pitchfork wrote that "Love Streams marks a subtle shift in Tim Hecker's habitual style, a pivot away from his hazy trademark." PopMatters gave the album nine stars out of ten,[4] stating that "Love Streams is at once familiar and totally alien; a work of art that reminds us why we need art in the first place."

Accolades

PublicationAccoladeYearRank
Consequence of SoundTop 50 Albums of 20162016
PitchforkThe 20 Best Experimental Albums of 20162016
The QuietusAlbums of the Year 20162016
StereogumThe 50 Best Albums of 20162016

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Album 'Love Streams' . February 8, 2016 . 4AD.
  2. Web site: Strauss. Minsker. Tim Hecker Announces New Album Love Streams. Pitchfork. 27 January 2016 . 8 February 2016.
  3. Web site: The Quietus announce Love Streams. 4 February 2016. 27 January 2016 .
  4. Web site: Tim Hecker: Love Streams. PopMatters. 2016-06-09.