Friday, December 30, 2016

Band Review: Hidden Hospitals


Hidden Hospitals is a Chicago rock band.

I have a hard time thinking of similar bands. At times they remind me a little of Taking Back Sunday. Hidden Hospitals has toured with The Used, who have also toured with Taking Back Sunday, so maybe that gives an idea.

While they just released their first album, Surface Tension, last year, they have had two EPs previously.

I am most drawn to EP 001, from 2011. Distortion is used effectively, giving the songs an emotional heft. I like the sequence of "One to Ones" and "Controlled Chaos" there.

It's not that I don't hear those same elements on the album (the intro on the second track, "Rose Hips", really caught my ear), but there is enough of an emotional component to how we connect to music that it is not always predictable (or logical).

On a philosophical level I appreciate the band's biography, though it really reads as more of a definition for Hidden Hospitals:

“Places revealed to those seeking resuscitation, rejuvenation, decompression, atonement.”

It is hopeful to believe that healing spots are available when needed, and can be found. I think many people can connect to that.

So a good place to start is probably "Rose Hips", the second track on the album. There is a video, it is probably the emotional powerhouse of the album, and the guitars on it are pretty good.




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