(Domino/EMI)

Winners of the Southend-on-Sea ‘most improved’ award for 2010

These New Puritans’ first album, Beat Pyramid, suffered from a few flaws: its association with the then-dying, now-decomposing nu-rave sound (I guess that’s what happens when you accept the poisoned chalice that is being Klaxons’ support act), pretentious track titles (C. 16th ±, anyone?), and not being terribly different from what every other NME-backed British band at the time was peddling (Gang Of Four and The Fall influences). Imagine, then, my utter surprise to throw this CD into my laptop and be greeted by a baroque oboe and brass arrangement (Time Xone) that swiftly segues into an apocalyptic doom-laden rock number that could provide the soundtrack for bombing runs over Baghdad (We Want War). Honestly, Hidden is a game-changer for this Southend-on-Sea quartet: it’s less Klaxons, more Gang Gang Dance, a potent blend of sample-based dance musique concrete and rock sensibilities (hell, they even get all Pink Floyd on us in Attack Music by adding a cockney children’s choir). Sure, sometimes their intentions are better than their execution (Orion aims for portentousness but hits pompousness), but you can’t help but admire a band ballsy enough to set Richard Garnett’s poem Where Corals Lie to heavy-metal drumming. The closing track, the cryptically-named 5, hints at even greater riches from this band in future with its intricate glockenspiel arrangements. Hidden is not a perfect album, but These New Puritans deserve immense praise for breaking from an easy path to deliver a complex and challenging masterpiece.

****
CHAD PARKHILL

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*