By JJT (written for ThinkChristian.net)

On Mysterium, Hammock surrounds those who mourn with a sonic cloud of witnesses.

We are a wordy people, casting about for phrases and metaphors as we try to make sense of the big and small things in life. Sometimes, however, we should just shut up. The apostle Paul, when addressing the deeply troubled church in Corinth, said that he didn’t come proclaiming things about God with lofty words or advice, but instead came “in weakness with great fear and trembling.”

Words allow us the perception of dominion. If we can define a thing, a feeling, an emotion, then maybe we can possess it. This is not an inherently bad trait, mind you. Naming things has been part of our mandate since the Garden. But when naming tricks us into thinking we control things, we set ourselves up for disappointment. It’s a lie we tell ourselves well.

There are certain experiences in life that bring us past the usefulness of words. The ecstasy of new love, the terror of a hurricane, the loss of a loved one. These things wreck our vocabulary and devastate our reasoning. They push us into realms beyond our rational control. It is in these hinterlands, these vast fields of light and dark, that we find ourselves in the place David describes in Psalm 5: simply groaning. When members of our community go through these trials, we are called first to bear each other’s burdens, not simply to offer words of encouragement or sympathy. Chaplains often refer to this as a “ministry of presence.” We go into the place of pain and demonstrate our love and concern by simply being there. There is no doubt a lot of this is happening right now in Houston, Florida, and various tropical islands.

The ambient, “post-rock” duo Hammock has been crafting fascinating, sometimes obtuse, and mostly instrumental music for 14 years now. Co-creators Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson, who began Hammock as an experimental side project, have quietly become two of the most respected practitioners of this kind of music. Sigur Rós’ Jónsi counts himself a fan and occasional collaborator, as are members of The Church and several other bands. Hammock’s songs have been placed in major films and television shows and have been gushed over by critics. But as impressive as their entire retinue has been, their latest, Mysterium, may be a new high water mark for Hammock, and the genre itself.

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