# No Highs > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/No_Highs > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/No_Highs.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Highs > Source revision: 1334572824 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{use Canadian English|date=August 2023}} {{use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox album | name = No Highs | type = studio album | artist = [Tim Hecker](/source/Tim_Hecker) | cover = File:Tim Hecker No Highs.webp | border = yes | alt = A high-up and monochrome view of a foggy urban city taken upside down, with the text "TIM HECKER" and "NO HIGHS" in the bottom corners. | released = April 7, 2023 | recorded = | venue = | studio = | genre = [Ambient](/source/Ambient_music) | length = 51:18 | label = [Kranky](/source/Kranky_(record_label)) | producer = | prev_title = [Anoyo](/source/Anoyo) | prev_year = 2019 | next_title = [Shards](/source/Shards_(EP)) | next_year = 2025 }} '''''No Highs''''' is the eleventh studio album by Canadian [ambient](/source/Ambient_music) musician [Tim Hecker](/source/Tim_Hecker), released on April 7, 2023, via [Kranky](/source/Kranky_(record_label)).{{Cite news |last=Monroe |first=Jazz |date=2023-04-07 |title=Tim Hecker: No Highs review – ambient music that reflects our polluted world |language=en-GB |work=[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/07/tim-hecker-no-highs-review |access-date=2023-08-23 |issn=0261-3077}} == Background == thumb|Hecker in 2018|left|150px A [press release](/source/press_release) about the album discussed [ambient music](/source/ambient_music)'s place in the modern era. It reads: "[the album] serves as a beacon of unease against the deluge of false positive corporate ambient currently in vogue".{{Cite web |last=Attard |first=Paul |date=2023-04-07 |title=Tim Hecker 'No Highs' Review: A Forebodingly Restless Album |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/tim-hecker-no-highs-album-review/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=[Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine) |language=en-US}} The album is Hecker's reaction to this "soothing", corporate ambient, as shown in the album's anxious and fretful sound. The album was also seen as a response to the rise of ambient music on [streaming services](/source/Music_streaming_service), which, according to ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'', "[threatens to] reduce ambient to a genre of convenience". [''Pitchfork''](/source/Pitchfork_(website)) wrote that "ambient music is in crisis" due to the abundance of channels on streaming services which "guarantee hours of chilled-out, challenge-free audio". == Composition == ''No Highs'' is an ambient album.{{Cite web |author=Kompys2000 |title=Review: Tim Hecker - No Highs |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/86717/Tim-Hecker-No-Highs/ |archiveurl =https://archive.today/20230418034205/https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/86717/Tim-Hecker-No-Highs/ |archivedate=2023-04-18 |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=[Sputnikmusic](/source/Sputnikmusic)}} The album is a departure of the sound of Hecker's last two albums, and was described by ''Pitchfork'' as "less confrontational".{{Cite web |last=Bromfield |first=Daniel |title=Tim Hecker: No Highs |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/tim-hecker-no-highs/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(magazine)) |language=en-US}} According to [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic), ''No Highs'' is about "dealing with depression, anxiety, and isolation" which reflects in the nervous tone of the music.{{Cite web |last=Simpson |first=Paul |title=Tim Hecker - No Highs Album Reviews, Songs & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/no-highs-mw0003923785 |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) |language=en}} [''The Skinny''](/source/The_Skinny_(magazine)) wrote that the album attempts to portray the contemporaneous era, and its sounds evoke "dead horizons and husk cityscapes".{{Cite web |last=Creely |first=Joe |title=Tim Hecker album review: No Highs |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/tim-hecker-no-highs |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=[The Skinny](/source/The_Skinny_(magazine)) |language=en}} According to [Sputnikmusic](/source/Sputnikmusic), the album is "profoundly lonely-feeling". The eight-minute opener "Monotony" begins with a [Morse code](/source/Morse_code)-like [post-minimalist](/source/Postminimalism) pulse, before "sweeping" synths and a [church organ](/source/church_organ) are added. According to ''Pitchfork'', this organ is a signature sound of Hecker. "Total Garbage" includes playing by saxophonist [Colin Stetson](/source/Colin_Stetson). "Lotus Light" helps portray the album's anxious mood through "a loud, high-pitched beeping noise". "In Your Mind" uses a sequencer pattern which has a fluctuating tempo. Stetson also plays on "Monotony II". Pitchfork compared the final two tracks, "Sense Suppression" and "Living Spa Water", to early ambient music. The satirically titled "Living Spa Water" was described by AllMusic as conveying "somewhere between a replenishing bath and an out-of-body experience". == Critical reception == {{Music ratings | rev4 = ''[The Skinny](/source/The_Skinny_(magazine))'' | rev4score = {{stars|3|5}} | rev6 = [Sputnikmusic](/source/Sputnikmusic) | rev6score = 4.0/5 | rev2 = ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'' | rev2score = {{stars|4|5}} | rev3 = [''Pitchfork''](/source/Pitchfork_(website)) | rev3score = 7.2/10 | rev1 = [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) | rev1score = {{stars|3.5|5}} | rev5 = ''[Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine)'' | rev5score = {{stars|3.5|5}} | MC = 77/100 }} No Highs received positive reviews from critics. {{Metacritic album prose|No Highs|generally favorable|77|11}}{{Cite web |title=No Highs by Tim Hecker |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/no-highs/tim-hecker |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=[Metacritic](/source/Metacritic) |language=en}} Paul Attard of ''[Slant Magazine](/source/Slant_Magazine)'' praised the album's atmosphere and dynamic sounds, but found some tracks like "Winter Cop" and "Sense Suppression" underwhelming in comparison to the rest of the album. Kompys2000 of Sputnikmusic described the album's sounds as "frequently gorgeous and sometimes even transcendent", but the album can seem standoffish in comparison to Hecker's other works. Joe Creely of [''The Skinny''](/source/The_Skinny_(magazine)) criticized the album's lack of focus and said it didn't stand out compared to previous work. Creely praised some "moments of tremendous beauty", including parts of the tracks "Monotony II" and "Total Garbage". Daniel Bromfield of [''Pitchfork''](/source/Pitchfork_(website)) found the album "muted" and unwilling to take risks in comparison to his earlier albums, such as ''[Harmony in Ultraviolet](/source/Harmony_in_Ultraviolet)'' or ''[Ravedeath, 1972](/source/Ravedeath%2C_1972)''. == Track listing == # "Monotony" – 8:22 # "Glissalia" – 2:58 # "Total Garbage" – 2:40 # "Lotus Light" – 8:31 # "Winter Cop" – 2:35 # "In Your Mind" – 3:35 # "Monotony II" (feat. [Colin Stetson](/source/Colin_Stetson)) – 2:57 # "Pulse Depression" – 2:27 # "Anxiety" – 8:16 # "Sense Suppression" – 2:04 # "Living Spa Water" – 6:46 == References == {{Reflist}} == External links == * [https://timhecker.bandcamp.com/album/no-highs ''No Highs''] on [Bandcamp](/source/Bandcamp) {{Tim Hecker}} {{Authority control}} Category:2023 albums Category:Kranky (record label) albums Category:Ambient albums by Canadian artists Category:Tim Hecker albums --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [No Highs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Highs) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Highs?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.