Hammock was formed in Nashville, Tennessee, by Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson, both former members of the alternative rock band Common Children. After the band split in 2001, the pair continued to write, record, and produce together in their free time.[6] Byrd was a songwriter for EMI Records, a job which he disliked and left him feeling burned out creatively.[7] He started to visit Thompson at his house, where they started "messing around" with ambient music that they had wanted to produce for some time at his basement studio named Studio 37.[6] The style of music was similar to the music the pair were listening to for pleasure, and "so far removed" from what they were used to working on which provided a refreshing and new direction.[6] Byrd said: "We didn't really see it turning into anything other than just good musical therapy."[8] Before long the pair had recorded between 20 and 40 tracks from these informal sessions which prompted them to release the material, thinking others might enjoy the music.[8][6] The band acquired its name when Byrd was hosting a party at his house, and told his friends that he and Thompson were stuck for names. A friend noticed his hammock in the garden and suggested it, which stuck. Byrd said: I didn't think of hammock, like the lazy beach. I thought of it more like, looking at the stars."[9]
In March 2005, music written and recorded from these initial sessions over a two-and-a-half year period was released on Hammock's debut album, Kenotic.[7] The record was written and recorded intermittently across a two-and-a-half year period, and self-released by the band. The enthusiastic response to the album took them by surprise.[7][6] This was followed by the EP Stranded Under Endless Sky four months later. The band published their website with quotes, poems, and external links to content that they thought fit with their music.[6] At the end of 2005, the webzineSomewhere Cold voted Hammock Artist of the Year on their 2005 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame list.[10]
Hammock's debut live performance was at Chuck Dodson's Gallery@404B in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on August 3, 2007, at the after-party of an event to honor the Icelandic artistic duo Jónsi & Alex. The band wrote all new music purposely for the gig, and used loop pedals so the two could perform alone.[11] The material was the basis of their third studio album Maybe They Will Sing for Us Tomorrow, named after a piece of art by Jónsi & Alex who agreed to produce the cover art for it.[11] The album was recorded live in its entirety, save for a few overdubs.[12][13] In 2008, Hammock performed at the Wordless Music Series in New York City with fellow ambient duo Stars of the Lid.[14]
2010–2016
In May 2010, Hammock released their fourth album Chasing After Shadows...Living with the Ghosts. The group wanted a change in musical direction as they developed a new fanbase with the previous album, so they incorporated orchestral arrangements and fuller instrumentation on their new material. Hammock said the change was "a natural progression ... that's the voice you have to follow".[15] They amassed 50 potential tracks for the record, using what fit its overall mood the best.[15] That December, Hammock released their fourth EP, Longest Year, a beatless and wordless mini-album that was born out of the difficulty the band faced in 2010, including the near-total destruction of Byrd's home in the 2010 Tennessee floods.[12] By the end of that year, Hammock had performed just twice in Nashville.[15]
Over the next few years, Hammock expanded their musical horizons with a variety of collaborations and the addition of more of an orchestral aspect to their music. Hammock collaborated with singer-songwriter Matthew Ryan on the single "Like New Year's Day", released on January 1, 2011.[16] On March 8, 2011, the band issued a cover of Catherine Wheel's "Black Metallic" as a digital single, featuring vocals by Byrd's wife, Christine Glass (the couple had previously collaborated as a duo, GlassByrd). On October 5, 2011, they released a four-song collaboration EP with Steve Kilbey and Tim Powles of the Church called Asleep in the Downlights.[17][18]
On July 6, 2012, Hammock announced that mastering had started for their sixth LP and first double album, Departure Songs. It was released on October 2, 2012.[19]
On May 10, 2013, they announced that they had begun mixing a new record, Oblivion Hymns. The album was released on November 26, 2013, and was a notable departure from their previously guitar-focused sound, adding a neoclassical element with a full orchestra, children's choir, and vocals from Timothy Showalter (Strand of Oaks).[12]
On July 1, 2014, Hammock reissued their fully ambient 2005 album The Sleep-Over Series (Volume 1), following it up with a sequel, The Sleepover Series, Volume 2, on September 23, 2014.
Hammock's ninth album, Everything and Nothing, was released on April 1, 2016. Irish music and politics magazine Hot Press said in its review that the album is "the aural equivalent of a flotation tank... an album to lose yourself in completely".[20] Haydon Spenceley, reviewing for Drowned in Sound, stated that the album has "clarity, purpose, drivenness, even, not words that would necessarily be associated with this stellar band's earlier work... This is music of transcendent beauty, but with an added level of dissonance that grabs the attention in a way that hasn't ever seemed to be Hammock's stock in trade before". Spenceley also claimed that Everything and Nothing is Hammock's "most immediate, most sonorous and beautiful album to date".[21]
2017–present
On June 21, 2017, Hammock announced via their Facebook page that their 10th album, Mysterium, would be released on August 25, 2017. They also released a video of the first single, "Things of Beauty Burn".[22] In 2018, Hammock released the follow-up to 2017's Mysterium with the album, Universalis. In 2019, Hammock released the follow-up to 2019's Universalis with the album, Silencia, thus concluding their self proclaimed "trilogy" [23]
In 2018, Hammock released an album, We Will Rise Again, that "reimagined" work composed by Dan Romer for the 2017 videogame, Far Cry 5.[26]
In 2020, Hammock released a remaster of their 2010 EP, Longest Year, with a physical release as well as new album artwork.[27]
In 2024, Hammock released the album A Hopeful Sign in collaboration with American rock band Yellowcard – a collection of 9 pre-existing Yellowcard songs re-interpreted with new instrumentation by Hammock.[28]
Other projects
Since 2005, Byrd has occasionally recorded as a member of the band the Choir.[29]
Hammock guested on the track "Melting the Frozen Sea Within Us" by Amman/Josh, which appeared on that band's 2010 EP Places.
Hammock collaborated with Matthew Perryman Jones in 2013 on the song "Unknown", released as part of the Nashville Indie Spotlight 2014 compilation album.[30]
Building on their 2011 collaboration with Matthew Ryan, Hammock announced a side project named the Summer Kills in March 2018.[31] After seven years of work, the trio's first album, Last Night We Became Swans (mixed by Peter Katis) was released on April 27, 2018.[32][33]
Discography
Studio albums
Kenotic (2005, Hammock Music; reissued digitally 2015 with session outtakes)
