Album Review: Jon Hopkins, Ritual

Jon Hopkins – a veteran architect of reverb-drenched soundscapes who’s worked with everyone from Coldplay to Brian Eno – remerges with Ritual, an odyssey split into eight interwoven chapters, said to take inspiration from ceremony, spiritual liberation and the hero's journey archetype.

The 41-minute piece balances the serene with the seismic, laced with angelic vocals, subterranean bass, and spritely, repetitive melodies which hypnotise through a gradually-building, insistent pulse. The album reaches a noisy apex during 'Part IV – The Veil’ and ‘Part V – Evocation’, creating a feeling of blockbuster tension. It climaxes in ‘Part VI – Solar Goddess Return’, before calming again during the aptly named ‘Dissolution’ segment.

There’s enough unobtrusive atmosphere to permit zoning out, with the right amount of sonic storytelling and variety to make Ritual worthy of careful attention. This is Hopkins in full command of his craft, using all the experience from his 22-year career to forge another cohesive and uplifting listen.