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I'm approaching the debut album from Hammock from two different directions.

First, I am always prepared to enjoy an album of atmospheric instrumental music. I believe this is one of the saving grace genres in music today. If bands like Sigur Ros and Explosions in the Sky weren't out there making unbelievably beautiful music - without words, no less - then the world truly would be a worse place. "Beautiful atmospheric instrumental music" is an apt description of what
Hammock does.

Second, I was a big fan of the band Common Children from the very beginning when they were drawing Nirvana comparisons. I watched over the following years as the music took a drastic step forward on Delicate Fade and then was thrilled when the band came back together to release The In Between Time three years ago, an album which paired singer / songwriter / guitarist Marc Byrd with Andrew Thompson for the first time. Over the next few years, Byrd spent plenty of time on the business side of music - the result of penning the hit worship song "God of Wonders." Kenotic feels like a long overdue release for Marc Byrd to let his
creative side run free. Here Byrd reunites with Andrew Thompson once more as the two create a bed of music that is sure to soften the hearts of even the most jaded music listeners.

In many ways, Kenotic feels like a natural follow up to the last Common Children album, which revealed strong signs of an atmospheric side to Marc Byrd's music. Here the atmosphere is entirely the focus. It's primarily Byrd's guitar with signature delay effects that have always defined his work that make this album feel so close to home. Testament to the patience of Hammock is the fact that less than half of the songs even use drums. It's in the building of a lush, moving musical bed that Byrd and Thompson concern themselves. As the result, there is no such thing as a filler track on Kenotic. All 70 minutes of the album demand to be played in one sitting. They deserve the time too.

It's interesting to find Hammock dabble a bit in synthesized beats on songs such as "Wish" and "Heaven Can Wait." The beats are complimentary to the rest of the music and steal nothing from the signature Hammock sound.

Don't be surprised if you see me using the words "Hammock sound" a lot in the future. By no means is Hammock an entirely unique musical endeavor, but there is something about the music that sets itself apart from all other projects of this genre. To be honest, if Sigur Ros were to release the crappiest album of the year, at this point I would be okay because I now have a more than worthy replacement if necessary. Hammock, welcome to my CD collection. Here's hoping there's more where you came from.

Trae Cadenhead  4/15/2005