Hammock Shares Two Gorgeous Tracks From Forthcoming Mysterium [Fresh Tracks]

For more than a decade, local post-rock duo Hammock has released a steady stream of singles, EPs and albums, each of them overflowing with lush, beautiful, (mostly) wordless arrangements. The band seldom plays live, but they've nevertheless racked up tens of thousands of followers on social media thanks to releases like 2012's exceptional Departure Songs (voted one of the top local albums of the year by the Scene), placements in film and television, and absolutely breathtaking music videos (see: exhibits A, B, C and D).

Well, great news for fans of beautiful things! Hammock recently announced that they'll release their eighth full-length album, Mysterium, on Aug. 25, and they're offering a pair of tracks as a little preview taste. Hear "Things of Beauty Burn" and the album's title track via the two YouTube embeds below or at the band's Bandcamp page (where you can also pre-order a physical or digital copy of Mysterium right now). Both tracks are slow-burning and gorgeous, bolstered by graceful, ethereal string arrangements. It's evocative music, the kind that — even if it doesn't end up as part of a film score — sure feels like it could function as the soundtrack to life's most powerful moments.

Says the band, Mysterium was "composed as a memorial to Clark Kern, a son-like figure to Hammock co-founder Marc Byrd who died in 2016 from the tumor strain NF2." Read more about Clark (or donate to the scholarship fund set up in his honor) right here, and dive into "Things of Beauty Burn" and "Mysterium" below.