"Shards is ephemeral and painfully rich. Listening to it is like brushing against a sharp memory that leaves blisters—the sting of a dozen paper cuts, shallow but just deep enough to bleed."
Splintered, shattered glass—the walls of the body— ‘Shards‘ is Tim Hecker’s latest album on Kranky. Almost two years since his previous album, I am happy to be sitting by the window to his sound, writing words with etched meanings for an emotionally eloquent body of music. Admittedly, the more I reach for explanations, the more they slip through my fingers.
Shards is aptly named—unlike a typical album, it is composed of fractured audio, each track a fragment of an unseen whole. Curated for fuller, longer-form TV and film scores, Shards is ephemeral and painfully rich. Listening to it is like brushing against a sharp memory that leaves blisters—the sting of a dozen paper cuts, shallow but just deep enough to bleed. Hecker sews sentiments into the skin, threading through a million things he wants to recall, reassert, and convey.
“Heaven Will Come”, a track for the times, its ghostly, high-pitched drones linger in the room, scabbing over wounds almost forgotten. A heavy opener, it leaves just enough space for the promise of respite. That promise nearly materialises in “Morning (Piano Version),” where playful keys drift in and out, only to be swallowed by an electric static. Clearly the track’s abrasiveness is vivid and intentional, designed to trigger the very comfortable.
More highlights from the seven-tracker includes “Joyride Alternate”, a real numbing agent, its running pattern of keys and amorphous synths flowing like a sedative. This alternate take on “Joy Ride” from Brandon Cronenberg’s 2023 sci-fi horror, Infinity Pool, stands out as one of Hecker’s best soundtracks. Hypnotic and unsettling, it soothes and haunts. The end is met with ‘Sunset Key Melt‘, a Hecker classic—disturbing, noise-like ambience punctuated by ecstatic piano notes, clubbing pure chaos and melody.
While each track belongs to a larger picture, they still hold within a strong narrative of their own. Shards is an invite to the understated and broken. The more you listen, the more it draws you in, not to complete the story, but to live in its cracks.
‘Shards’ is out now via Kranky. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. Heaven Will Come
2. Morning (Piano Version)
3. Monotone 3
4. Icesynth
5. Sars Requiem
6. Joyride Alternate
7. Sunset Key Melt