A hidden gem! This is another classic album from Patrick. This one is one of my favorites besides Indigo and Trust. I would also suggest Structures of Silence by Steve Roach.

I have been playing this album to death for the past 2 weeks since discovering it. I went back to re-listen to Patrick O'Hearn's earliest albums and I realize just how far he has come as a composer: "Glaciation" is so much more subtle than his early work, as if he has peeled back all the extraneous layers of his music to reveal just the minimum sparseness needed to paint a rich aural tapestry in the listener's mind. Totally appropriate for an album about the sparse landscapes of glaciers and icebergs. Gorgeous!

iTunes when will you get Patrick O'Hearn's Private Music label albums on here? I see that a few of Yanni's are available now. Patrick is way better. Lets get his first albums on here now!

Wonderful melodies that really do touch you, if you're the type of person who is sensitive to slow, melodic chords. 90% of the album could easily be called ambient. The only songs that really distracted me and felt out of place were songs 5 and 11... just not engaging songs that broke from the deep aspect of the others... I didn't buy them. Another drawback--I agree with some reviewers that the short length of the deeper songs really hurt what could have been an absolutely amazing ambient album. The artist's choice to create songs that run two to three minutes is such a shame... he created facinating melodies and sounds. I wish many songs were allowed to move on for more time. Songs feel cut short of their potential... as if only a teaser to the full-length songs that were sadly never created. Aside from the two songs that I felt were too "new-agey" (5 and 11) and the brevity of the deep tracks, this is good quality relaxing music.

...of what ambient electronica is at its best. I discovered his music years ago and with each successive album his compositions get richer and more complex. If, if I could only write music (yeah, sure!) this would be it. Instead, I will continue to enjoy the work of this terrific artist. Glaciation is my favorite and is a solid next step of the direction of Slow Time. Thom Brennan, Ralf Hildenbeutel, Bob Holroyd and Brain Laughter are some of my favorites, too. This album is sensational, and Patrick has done it again!

I like this recording, but only purchased one of the tunes - "A Safe Return" - which is incredibly beautiful. But that's just me. On this new album O' Hearn creates expansive, haunting soundscapes using interweaving layers of guitars, fretless bass, synths and samples. No obvious drums are used to hook us into the groove. Rather the rhythm is always carried by the melodic fold and weave of the compositions. The net effect does indeed evoke arctic landscapes and vast oceans of cool blue. But the music will conjure its own place in your mind as you listen. As I listen to this album I am reminded of Mark Isham's more atmospheric recordings as well as Lanterna's "Sands". Mice Parade's work also comes to mind. Fans of Hans Zimmer's recent film scores may dig this album as may those who enjoy trance-ish electronica such as Apparat, Underworld, Chicane and early William Orbit. Not that O'Hearn is referencing those artists here. Not all all. He's his own man. He travels his own road on "Glaciation" - and the listener is right alongside - wearing a scarf, mittens and headphones.

I'll agree that it is much like 'Slow Time' however that's his mode currently. Like 'Trust' there is an evening quality to it and I feel it will be my soundtrack for long drives or readings. As well, for those like me who look forward to nature's own specticle it should make for great accompaniment to the meteor shower season coming up. Remember, it's o.k. to listen to Patrick loud...

Patrick O'Hearn's newest album, Glaciation, is just as amazing as his previous efforts. I think that calling his work "new age" isn't quite appropriate as it combines elements of new age, jazz, electronic, and world music. Each of his albums is something to experience. My 4yo has fallen to sleep every night to his Beautiful World and So Flows the Current albums and I find my work day is less stressful with his entire CD catalog playing in my iTunes as I work. So don't be put off by the new age label...give this or any of his albums available here on ITMS a shot.

Since Beautiful World, Patrick has been actively pursuing more ambient and atmospheric textures in his music. Glaciation, as a follow-up to Slow Time, is another step further from his trademark multi-instrumentational style and closer to his newfound method of creating more minimalistic aural landscapes. We've seen Patrick's introspective side before on tracks like Farewell, Chance and Cloudland. But Glaciation is different still in that it doesn't so much as tell a story (with a beginning, middle and end) so much as it paints a picture, one with many layers and subtle shades and textures…one that offers something slightly new with each listen. The resulting sound has elements of Isham and Eno, but in the end it’s pure O’Hearn. Fans of Patrick’s earlier albums may have a harder time adjusting to his new style but I urge you to dive in anyway. Glaciation, as its name implies, may move more slowly than past albums, but there is a crystalline beauty and calming effect in every track…and like an iceberg adrift, I discover much more weight to this music than is immediately apparent. I applaud Patrick for being the true independent artist that he is, for breaking out of the mold and growing and experimenting, at his own pace and on his own terms.

I have often cringed at the “New Age” classification of Patrick O’Hearn’s work. His definitive sound defies definition, as the term “New Age” conjures up images of yoga devotees on mats overlooking the ocean (not that there’s anything wrong with that!), but PO’s work has always defied definition and Glaciation is no exception – it is clearly a progression of his Beautiful World and Slow Time releases. Minimalistic in a musical sense, more so than any other PO release. Mostly acoustic with very little electronic accompaniment – and if it is, its mixed into the background to create mood. Exceptions to this are Resourceful adaptation, and beneath the Celestial Sphere which are completely without PO’s trademark instrumentation but explore his aural aesthetic in a purely electronic sense. Some tracks take on the feel of a soundtrack and I wish they would go on a bit longer, but overall most tracks showcase Patrick’s refined melodic sensibilities and ability to create mood. Glaciation is a good example of a self-produced release by an artist that is a true innovator. I feel like PO’s sound is evolving but with the assistance (or nuisance) of a producer in the studio some tracks could have benefited from that extra “umph” of depth or additional arrangement to build the emotional response to a greater crescendo. The kind of crescendo I remember in older tracks like “Beauty In Darkness”, and more recently in “So Flows The Current” and “Beautiful World”. PO’s last release, Slow Time was noted for it’s abstract ambience and I think Glaciation has followed closely in its predecessor’s footsteps. On his website PO explains that Glaciation is “a simple 13 composition music-told narrative” and that he was pursuing an “under adorned openness” that he feels turned out pretty well. In those respects I have to agree it is a strong representation of the ambient narrative but long-time PO fans may find it a bit of a departure. -BK