These New Puritans - Hidden

These New Puritans to release new album titled "Hidden" on 18 January

The album is streamed on Myspace here

See video of the first single We want war



The production is clearly aiming at big sound here: brass ensemble, Japanese drums, children choir, swords, smashed heads (simulated)... that's what I call raising the bar. In fact at first listen the album sounds a bit like Divine Comedy meets Leftfield meets Ghost Dog mish mash. I

don't know if this is supposed to be what the sound of 2010 looks like.

First impression is that big drums become quickly tiring and, with the rest of production, they drown the songs which lack strong substance of their own.

But I reserve my opinion for when I will have seen their gig.

From press release:

"the album draws equally on on the rhythmic lexicons of dancehall and 20th century post-minimalism, with instrumentation redolent of both the oceanic brass of benjamin britten's peter grimes and the plastic textures of modern us pop. it is sometimes brutal, sometimes melancholy, and sounds like nothing else.

'hidden' features six-foot japanese taiko drums, a thirteen piece brass and woodwind ensemble, sub-heavy beats, prepared piano, a children's choir, foley recording techniques (including a melon with cream crackers attached struck by a hammer, used to simulate the sound of a human head being smashed), and the ethereal voice of heather marlatt from dream-pop group Salem."


Nota Bene: Pre-order of the LP version of the album will be signed by band members