Albums to watch

Virgins

Tim Hecker

Virgins

The Montreal-based electronic musician and occasional artist's seventh solo record

ADM rating[?]

8.1

Label
Kranky
UK Release date
14/10/2013
US Release date
14/10/2013
  1. 9.1 |   A.V. Club

    Although never quite retreating from Hecker’s signature techniques, Virgins still finds angular ways to stun
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  2. 9.0 |   PopMatters

    Ravedeath, 1972 was justly lauded and loved, but in comparison to Virgins it lacks a bit of variety and full-throttle intensity
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  3. 9.0 |   Spin

    Hecker's abstractions have never been more expressive than they are on Virgins
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  4. 9.0 |   God Is In The TV

    Hecker’s work is, above all else, textural and often requires consideration and empathy from the listener before it becomes decipherable, let alone accessible
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  5. 9.0 |   musicOMH

    While the album is unmistakably Hecker’s vision, it’s the listener’s experience
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  6. 8.5 |   The 405

    We now have an identity, purpose and meaning to the bleak and emotional sounds, and it's really quite astonishing
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  7. 8.3 |   Pitchfork

    While it’s a fallacy to think that hyperseriousness is the only way to strike people at their core, it’s still inspiring to hear an artist—especially one who started out as mellow as Hecker—double down and make a statement so confrontational
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  8. 8.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Throughout Virgins, Hecker organizes things just a little bit off, pokes at it just enough to be unsettling, and then pushes things away just when they start to make sense
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  9. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    A defining point for the critically-lauded ambient maestro
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  10. 8.0 |   The List

    Can be a challenging listen but it also paints a vivid engrossing world, and really cements Hecker's position as a master of his field
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  11. 8.0 |   Q

    It flickers like a candle in the gloom. Print edition only

  12. 8.0 |   Clash

    Exultant and enigmatic but still acutely abrasive in parts, seventh solo LP ‘Virgins’ is a nebulous thing, but not without substance
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  13. 8.0 |   Uncut

    It's masterful, though it'll leave you feeling like a speck of gravel in a self-destructing world. Print edition only

  14. 8.0 |   All Music

    Hecker's sound signature may still be instantly recognizable, but there is no denying that he has moved significantly farther down the path toward something else with Virgins
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  15. 8.0 |   NME

    'Virgins' is Hecker in less-noisy-than-usual mode
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  16. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    Virgins is Tim Hecker at his most thought-provoking and enigmatic
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  17. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Another essential release then, but a step towards theory-over-content that Hecker never really needed
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  18. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    The layers of noise, which at first may seem intimidating, are so harmonically rich they immerse the listener as the sounds interact creating new and unexpectedly mellifluous sounds
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  19. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Virgins is concise, cogent and considerably less clouded in hypnotic fuzz than Hecker’s previous efforts, as if the Canadian has finally made friends with the edit function
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  20. 8.0 |   Fact

    Volatility is Virgins’ most intriguing feature; where on previous albums you would expect Hecker’s songs to soar, now they teem with internal energy
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  21. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Speaks volumes about the breadth of both his imagination and compositional agility. Print edition only

  22. 7.0 |   No Ripcord

    An engagingly visceral work of provocation, on balance interspersing his trademark beauty with enough challenging moments to reward repeated visits
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  23. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    It marks a natural progression—a little more defined, a little less of a homogeneous whole, but still a sound world that's unmistakably Hecker's own
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Tim Hecker: Virgins

  • Download full album for just £8.49
  • 1. Prism N/A
  • 2. Virginal I N/A
  • 3. Radiance N/A
  • 4. Live Room N/A
  • 5. Live Room Out N/A
  • 6. Virginal II N/A
  • 7. Black Refraction N/A
  • 8. Incense at Abu Ghraib N/A
  • 9. Amps, Drugs, Harmonium N/A
  • 10. Stigmata I N/A
  • 11. Stigmata II N/A
  • 12. Stab Variation N/A
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