Virgins - Tim Hecker
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
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  1. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Oct 16, 2013
    95
    Its a testament to the fact that Tim Hecker is one of the best artists making music today, constantly pushing his sound to new heights while keep his signature style at the core of it all.
  2. Spin
    Oct 15, 2013
    90
    There's an exhilarating bleakness at the center of Virgins--the hollow at the heart of all things, nibbling inexorably away.
  3. PopMatters
    Oct 15, 2013
    90
    Excavation is entirely capable of conjuring up all sorts of images in your mind while the music plays, but Virgins keeps you focused instead on what’s happening inside of it; for music with so few conventional entry points, Hecker has again managed to make his work structurally and viscerally gripping.
  4. XLR8r
    Oct 15, 2013
    85
    In the end, Virgins only adds to the artist's growing legacy; it's another triumph for Hecker that once again strikes a resounding chord that not many ambient records can.
  5. Pitchfork
    Oct 15, 2013
    83
    This is music that benefits from being heard loud and/or on headphones in the same way couches are best experienced by actually sitting down in them instead of just brushing your fingers against the upholstery as you leave the room.

User Reviews

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User Score
9.3

Universal acclaim- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. W3R3W00F
    Oct 16, 2013
    9
    Listening to Tim Hecker's "Virgins" is amazing. After a few listens, slowly memorizing the position and elements of each song, it begins to unfold like an epic, or perhaps, like the shadow of one.

    It's as wide as a cathedral, haunting as the Catacombs of Paris, ominous as an approaching hurricane, cold as Siberia, glitchy as Windows 95, fractured as a broken spine, scary as a horror film, invasive as a parasite, intelligent as a skyscraper's blueprint, instrumentally varied as Texan geography, glowing as moonlight through stained glass windows, melancholic as peacetime after the war, disquieting as a necropolis... and yet, it remains beautiful throughout.

    I enjoyed Tim Hecker's "Ravedeath, 1972" well enough, but "Virgins" speaks to me far more. Stigmata I and II are wonderful together and are perhaps my favorite songs, aside from Virginal I and Virginal II. It's wonderful throughout. Glad I bought it.

    Also, just for kicks: compare Rachel's' "Systems Layers" to the song "Black Refractions." It's interesting how similar they are.    … Full Review »
  2. indiegalaxy10
    Oct 16, 2013
    9
    Tim hecker creates art with this fantastic music the soundscapes are beautiful, dark tense. It's a perfect comeback to being one of the best experimental artists out there, as Ravedeath 1972, Hecker can bring the shadows of a obscure world to transformate to light, sadness never sounded so good. Excellent!… Full Review »
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