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Jun 02, 2026 Web Exclusive By Haydon Spenceley

The prolific work over more than a decade that Hammock—the duo of Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson—have put in has justifiably elevated them to a rare pantheon, not just in ambient music, their primary genre, but in contemporary music more generally. That pantheon is one that when pressing play on a new Hammock record, whatever the narrative and presentation around it, the haunting, guitar-led ambiance emanating from your speakers or headphones immediately feels like it is recognizably them and could only be them. In a musical landscape saturated with copyists and wannabes this is no small feat.

By my count, The Second Coming Was a Moonrise is the band’s 17th album. Their enduring longevity and ability to both sound like them as on opener “Inbreaking”—with its gorgeous swells that emerge from the distance to seemingly control the forefront of your mind—or “The Unsetting Sun,” which builds and builds and builds some more to a tremulous climax remains their calling card.

“Like Sinking Stars” comes over like an outtake from the excellent The Summer Kills record they collaborated on with Matthew Ryan in 2018. There’s also the much vaunted 2006 collaboration with The Flaming Lips, “Chemicals Make You Small,” which is beautiful and extends the palette of both bands in unforeseen new directions.

Powerful late album moments “Deconstructing” and album closer “All the Pain You Can’t Explain” hint at the mood behind the album, one of seeking escape and exploration after the pain of being controlled and lacking freedom, both in religious terms and not having had the chance to be open to the fullness of life that is all around us. That is something of the paradox behind this record, it feels taut and angry, as if the band are trying to make profound statements, as they have in much of the press around the record. The trouble is that what Hammock is known for, what they remain one of the best in the world at, is being purveyors of beauty. However hard they might try they can’t seem to escape that. This album is full of that trademark Hammock beauty. What stops the record being great is that much of it would sit comfortably on many of their previous records and feels interchangeable with their previous output. Only in key moments such as the seismic ending to the closing track do we see the true potential of what could happen if the band truly loosen the shackles and break free. Here’s hoping that they keep going to album 25 and beyond and truly enjoy being free to be themselves along the way. (www.hammockmusic.com)

Author rating: 7/10