Nevertheless is a word that Marc Byrd, half of Hammock along with Andrew Thompson, grew accustomed to hearing at funerals in the Deep South. “A loved one is gone. Nevertheless…” The word was meant to convey reflection, recalibration, a pause between considerations, as in Selah.
The duo is no stranger to sorrow and loss, which has informed their music for decades. This makes them well-suited to convey empathy, as they do throughout this recording, dedicated to a friend who lost both a son and a daughter to addiction. “Requiem for Johan” (the son) begins this journey, which is less one toward recovery than to incorporation; the track title “Like a Sadness We Get Used To” reflects this incorporation, as do Byrd’s words, “We limp on,” which might…