Hauschka: Philanthropy - Clear-eyed, considered and infused with optimism

Volker Bertelmann’s first album in four years after 2019′s A Different Forest takes us to a different kind of landscape, to more clarifying, clear-eyed terrain, but then a sense of progression has always been key for Bertelmann – never one to repeat himself, he has explored such diverse interests as techno in 2011′s Salon Des Amateurs to utopia in 2017′s What If.

Philanthropy takes the richness from that word and action as its root, and consequently infuses the record with a deep sense of optimism. It is present in every composition; it’s there in the rolling arpeggios of Diversity, harnessing a wistful minimalism, and the elegant mischief of Inventions. Detached conveys an eerie quality, conjuring a sense of anxiety about the passage of time, and Limitation of Lifetime is an album highlight, reminiscent of a Debussy Prélude, it is possibly the most traditional in ways, but the most affecting.

Nature is a haunting piece that complements Science, with its beautiful plucked piano strings, and the chamber music of Loved Ones is completely gorgeous, which seems to channel some of Morricone’s mastery of melody, it is doomy, dubby and sensual. Magnanimity is all glacial melancholia, offset by Altruism and its cheerful rhythms – like Demis Roussos at a wedding, and Noise is an exhalation of sorts, a sonic sigh, but not a weary one, it is a considered ending for a considered record.