These New Puritans – Hidden (Domino)
4/5
By: Mike Harounoff
These New Puritans are in an interesting position with their second record. While their first album Beat Pyramid was critically acclaimed, and their live show was one to seek out, it always seemed the band had difficulty in selling themselves, putting themselves in an almost alienated position. Perhaps however, that was just the way they liked it- Hidden is a record only possible with alienation. Just look at the name.
In a musical world where saturation is the younger and only slightly lesser evil to illegal downloads, These New Puritans have seemingly avoided contemporary influences - there are no DIY guitars or overtly pop synths to be found here. They abhor lo-fi. In fact, album opener ‘Time Xone’ might be spelt futuristically, but upon hearing is far more likely to bring to mind the 1800’s rather than the 3000’s - it’s a quaint and brooding orchestral track immediately suggestive of a more relaxed, mature effort. As the horns from ‘Time Xone’ fade out, ‘We Want War’ begins. Yes, that’s right, ‘We Want War’ - hypnotic vocals, distorted samples and a totally drum driven journey, suddenly that relaxed place the opener put you in has been put in an entirely new context. Lulled into a false sense of complacency? These New Puritans have got you right where they want you.
Hidden works like a concept album - there’s a clear beginning, middle and end to the record, although trying to make sense of it all is near impossible. Tracks like ‘Fire-Power’ seem to be snapshots of brief moments of time, using repetition and choppy beats to allow the listener to feel part of what’s going on whilst never letting them get too close. This is an atmosphere you can imagine These New Puritans feel most comfortable with. The orchestral number ‘Canticle’ is a brief moment of respite before the drum heavy ‘Where Corals Lie’ startles and sinks you back into the world of which you can only catch a glimpse, a world where repetition is order of the day, a world you’ve already experienced earlier in the record, a world that’s beginning to become more familiar, yet a world you will never know well enough.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Hidden comes with its more comforting side. This isn’t a record put together by numbers, there’s not a pop track, a club track, a slow one – none of that. Hidden isn’t a casual record, to truly understand it time needs to be invested – it’s not one for the iPod on the way to work, or to soundtrack an irritating Facebook chat session where everything keeps crashing. In fact, I dread to even attempt to imagine what would happen if you listened to this record whilst having computer difficulties, they’re frustrating enough without being worked up by ‘Attack Music’, calmed by ‘Orion’, and then spat back out to deal with your fibre optic nightmare sound tracked by ‘Fire-Power’. To get the most out of Hidden takes time, but ultimately it’s worth it - we’ve got a contender for one of the albums of year on our hands here. Yet at times it feels like that’s what These New Puritans are worried about - that people are going to get too close. Where’s the solace in attempted isolation when everyone wants a piece of you?
With Hidden, These New Puritans have an album that you sense they really feel comfortable with, that allows their paranoia and isolation to exist freely, one where conflicts- both musically and socially- with the past and future sit together neatly to create a world where a coffee stained black and white photographs sitting on a mantelpiece in the millennium falcon wouldn’t seem out of place. As the record comes to an end with ‘5’, you can’t help but wonder what happens next... but bear in mind this is These New Puritans we’re talking about. They’ll let you know when they’re ready - and be sure it won’t be anything like what you expected.
Artists in this article: These New Puritans
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment