XLR8R

Tim Hecker enjoys tossing his listeners into the open sea with only their hypothermic hallucinations to keep them company. He typically chisels a pristine din out of soot-clogged guitar distortion and symphonics that litter from the heavens. Mirages is rather conservative, resembling a B-side collection of his two earlier albums, but the drifting cadence and metallic timbres that color its information-pollution blues all keep things engrossing. The opener, Acephale," first erupts into a teeth-gnashing guitar solo before nodding off into an absinthe stupor, while the highlights, "Neither More or Less" and "Celestina" are both brooding stroboscope soundtracks. Stay asleep, Tim.