Hidden (These New Puritans album)

Hidden (often stylized as ĦỊĐĐỂŅ) is the second studio album by British art rock band These New Puritans. Featuring a wider sonic palette than previous work and sections played by a Czech orchestra, it was produced by frontman Jack Barnett and former Bark Psychosis leader Graham Sutton during 2009. Before their second album Hidden was released, Barnett revealed that he had been writing music for bassoon and stated that the aim was for a final product where "dancehall meets Steve Reich".[13] Barnett learned music notation in order to write the classical parts of the album, especially the brass and woodwind audio tracks. The mixing process was undertaken by Dave Cooley, who had previously focused on alternative hip hop and shoegazing artists, in Los Angeles using Barnett's input. Angular Recording Corporation and Domino Records released Hidden in most territories on 18 January 2010; the North American release date was 2 March. Angular's press release describes the album as including:

HIDDEN
A gray, swirled image with a black, four-quadrant maze overlaid. Atop this image is the all-caps text "Hidden" at the top, and "These New Puritans" at the bottom.
Studio album by
Released18 January 2010 (2010-01-18)
Recorded2009 in London and Prague
Genre
Length43:02
LabelAngular, Domino
ProducerJack Barnett, Graham Sutton
These New Puritans chronology
Beat Pyramid
(2008)
HIDDEN
(2010)
Field of Reeds
(2013)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[1]
Metacritic83/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The A.V. ClubB[4]
The Daily Telegraph[5]
The Guardian[6]
Mojo[7]
NME9/10[8]
Pitchfork8.2/10[9]
Q[10]
Spin7/10[11]
Uncut[12]

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.[14]

Hidden was voted NME album of the year for 2010.

Legacy

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Reflecting on "We Want War" in 2023, Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger wrote: "A rare thing by 2010, almost extinct now – the big statement artrock single. These New Puritans were scrappy post-punkers who suddenly reinvented themselves with an extraordinary new sound – part 17th century chamber music, part dancehall, telling a story of the old unquiet ghosts of England."[15]

Track listing

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All songs written by Jack Barnett, unless otherwise stated.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Time Xone" 2:07
2."We Want War"Jack Barnett, Richard Rodney Bennett, John Rutter, Cambridge Singers7:23
3."Three Thousand" 2:49
4."Hologram" 2:22
5."Attack Music"Jack Barnett, Thomas Hein4:48
6."Fire–Power" 3:20
7."Orion" 4:31
8."Canticle" 1:12
9."Drum Courts–Where Corals Lie"Jack Barnett, Sir Edward Elgar, Richard Garnett6:14
10."White Chords" 3:42
11."5" 4:40
Total length:43:02
Japan edition bonus tracks [16]
No.TitleLength
12."We Want War" (Brass & Woodwind/Alternate Ending)2:09
13."Hologram" (Alternative Mix)2:03
Total length:47:20

[17]

Charts

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Chart (2010) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 49
Greek Albums (IFPI)[19] 46
UK Albums (OCC)[20] 100
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[21] 10

References

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  1. ^ "Hidden by These New Puritans reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Reviews for Hidden by These New Puritans". Metacritic. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  3. ^ Allen, James. "Hidden – These New Puritans". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  4. ^ Ryan, Kyle (9 March 2010). "These New Puritans: Hidden". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  5. ^ Burrows, Tim (20 January 2010). "These New Puritans: Hidden, CD review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  6. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (9 December 2010). "These New Puritans: Hidden". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  7. ^ "These New Puritans: Hidden". Mojo (195): 93. February 2010.
  8. ^ Miller, Alex (18 January 2010). "Album review: These New Puritans – 'Hidden' (Angular Recording Corporation)". NME. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  9. ^ Granzin, Amy (22 February 2010). "These New Puritans: Hidden". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  10. ^ "These New Puritans: Hidden". Q (283): 112. February 2010.
  11. ^ Young, Jon (9 March 2010). "These New Puritans, 'Hidden' (Domino)". Spin. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  12. ^ "These New Puritans: Hidden". Uncut (153): 104. February 2010.
  13. ^ "Music – Review of These New Puritans – Hidden". BBC. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  14. ^ Angular website announcement Archived 2009-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Ewing, Tom (19 September 2013). "FearOfMu21c #10 – 2010-2011". Freaky Trigger. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  16. ^ "These New Puritans / Hidden". Tower Records.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  17. ^ Bychawski, Adam (27 October 2009). "These New Puritans announce second album details". NME. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Ultratop.be – These New Puritans – Hidden" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Greekcharts.com – These New Puritans – Hidden". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  20. ^ "These New Puritans | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 June 2016.