Weekly Release Spotlight: These New Puritans

Posted on 3/01/2010

These New Puritans

Hidden

[Domino]

Interesting. Complex. Polarizing. The first words evoked by These New Puritans’ second LP reflect its title well, as Hidden demands a bit more from the listener than the average album in uncovering numerous and wide-ranging influences. Though their debut Beat Pyramid (released in 2008) is structured around references to philosophical antiquity, the content remains fairly accessible thanks to predominantly standard instrumentation and arrangement. Alluding to Greek mythology (the hero Memnon appears in track four, “Hologram”) and legendry of the Middle Ages (Sir Galahad and his fellow knights receiving attention in track two, “We Want War”), the sophomore effort from These New Puritans is a deep narrative delivered through a denser, texturally captivating sound mosaic.

In a collaborative endeavor, UK rock producer Graham Sutton, Los Angeles-based, hip hop-seasoned mixing engineer Dave Cooley, and lead lyricist/singer Jack Barnett pour thick layers of instrumental accompaniment provided by Japanese Taiko drums, Czech and British brass and woodwind choirs, chains, knives, and futuristic synthesizers as a foundation for most tracks on Hidden. Persistently pounding dance-like drumbeats propel more melodically cyclical songs such as “Three-Thousand” and “Attack Music”, while chorale-style instrumental arrangements expand “Orion” and “Drum Courts- Where Corals Lie”. These New Puritans reference antiquity more strongly than ever in this last piece, working with their accompanying ensemble to render a unique arrangement of Sir Edward Elgar’s 18th Century song cycle “Sea Pictures”.

Perhaps Barnett describes his band’s album when he sings in “White Chords”: “Frames of colour flicker between ancient and brand new”. In addition to the instrumental contrast between contemporary and traditional, the album itself is framed much like a classical music performance. The first and last pieces of Hidden serve respectively as introduction and conclusion, and “Canticle”, the eighth track, provides an instrumental interlude. True to compositional form, melodic themes that the brass and wind ensemble introduce in “Time Xone” return amidst a modernized musical setting in track six, “Fire-Power”. Undoubtedly an album intended to be listened to from start to finish, Hidden offers listeners far more than a collection of eleven separate tracks. Through subtle insinuations paired with danceable rhythms, These New Puritans present listeners a taste of “high culture” format palpable to the masses.

Stream: These New Puritans - Orion

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Find more These New Puritans at the Domino Records store

Written by Alex Hamberger, Radio K volunteer.