Release Date: 14 March 2025
Song Count: 7
Duration: 42 minutes, 20 seconds
Rating: 5.3/10
Description:
Almost exactly one year ago today saw the release of Dutch musician Jurre Timmer's third album under his solo project Thurnin, a heartfelt work of folk music by the name of Harmr. The name of the LP stems from the Icelandic language and translates to "sorrow", or, by its old-fashioned meaning, "grief" - and grief is precisely the general theme the mood of this music runs with in its inherent nature. An entirely instrumental album with a slower tempo, self-indulgence and somber and bittersweet atmosphere, Harmr presents itself more as a unified experience contained in sonical form than a collection of songs that individually try to claw for their moment in the spotlight.
Dominated by the calm, smooth strumming of the guitars the entire journey through, the soundscape is decorated further by the inclusion of traditional tools like flutes and backing string instruments that build it up into a primarily ambience-based piece. The tracks flow into each other like tidal waves and stay consistent throughout, leading to them fully morphing into one cohesive sound instead of trying to stand out as their own blimps and glimpses of memorability. It ends up leading to a mental effect forming on the listener that is tranquilising and engrossing in its simple yet immersive nature whilst listening through each song after another.
Aside from the particular feeling Harmr invokes upon being graced by its musical contents, however, this record falls short of being able to stick in one's memory as anything more than a fleeting experience to be taken through and not to look back on again once it is finished. A project that showcases plenty of potential to achieve a complete and fulfilling experience with very few musical tools and elements in play, this album seems just short of reaching what it hints towards and ends up acting more like a piece that teases something greater to come in the future than one that outright is such. Still, this was an enriching insight into Timmer's work that will remain a long-term footnote to revisit more of the artist's works.