From start to finish this record feels like a journey, from deep sadness, to grandiose almost psychotic happiness and everything in that gloomy in between. Hidden Mothers manage to straddle the audible gamut of emotions available to them as they lay bare worries, desires, madness and anger in one package.
Both Luke Scrivens and Liam Knowles need to be given their plaudits, as the vocals on this record are next level. Delicate emotional touches sit comfortably next to dirty screamed proclamations, the dichotomy created vocally is a wonder to behold, akin to the juxtaposition in the lyrics for ‘Grandfather,’ ‘he’s got blood on his suit, but clean hands just the same.’ Between that, the lyricism and the perfectly poised instrumental work Hidden Mothers have produced a work of painful beauty that will not go quietly into the night.
Each song on the record goes through ups and downs so seamlessly the listen is effortless albeit one that feels like it’s trying (and succeeding) to convey pain and sadness in equal parts. The last two minutes of ‘Death Curl,’ epitomise this, at one point the drippy delay drenched guitars ruminate in the background as Skrivens croons delicately into screamed doom metal heaviness. Just when it seems the track has reached its zenith of heaviness the drums kick in for real and pound through a massive metalcore / shoegaze breakdown, with the lead guitars adding a grandiose tone over the proceedings.
“That’s not a bad thing at all, it more speaks to the effortless nature of how the music sweeps through like a tidal flood where all that can really be hoped for is to cling on to the nearest fallen tree and hope that it hits dry land at some point.”
Every part of this record seems to have been thoroughly addressed to the finest detail, it’s a testament to the band that each listen reveals a new layer, or undercurrent simmering just below the surface. Even when it seems like you have it sussed, it comes back with a sharp left hook that wasn’t telegraphed, but nonetheless fits perfectly exactly where it has been placed. Like the lyrics say it sometimes feels like, ‘a needle through skin’ other times exultations scream, ‘I am the cause,’ backed up by pounding mid tempo blast beats.
This here is a band that can do a little bit of everything, and does it well to boot. It’s reminiscent of the late great Palm Reader, another band that defied genre descriptions by picking and plucking from here and there, and mashing together so many emotions to make something that comes together into such a cohesive experience that it sometimes feels as though the track is over before it’s started. That’s not a bad thing at all, it more speaks to the effortless nature of how the music sweeps through like a tidal flood where all that can really be hoped for is to cling on to the nearest fallen tree and hope that it hits dry land at some point. This album has been a long time coming, and to be honest you can see why, this sort of finely crafted art doesn’t happen overnight, it takes years of graft and toil to produce and it shows, in a big big way.