With all the chaos surrounding the Drive Thru Records/Geffen ‘divorce’, and the fact that bands left the label, moved labels, switched labels and did everything to other labels you can possibly think of as part of that alliance, you could be forgiven for forgetting that Hidden In Plain View actually exist. One of the latter bands to sign up before the recent shopping spree Richard and Stefanie embarked on, HIPV actually sold more than 50,000 copies of their EP released on the label in 2003. While the label switched from Geffen to Sanctuary in terms of distribution, HIPV went away and wrote a new record and ‘Life In Dreaming’ is the result of their hard work – and it reaffirms my faith that 2005 could well be DTR’s year. This 11-track CD is in the mould of the Taking Back Sundays and The Early November‘s of this world and, in true DTR fashion, has more melodies than an Ashlee Simpson record. Jim Wirt’s (Incubus, Something Corporate) production has a lovely thick sound and really adds a layer, especially in the vocals.
It’s an old journalistic cliche to say that bands mature between their first and second releases, but in songwriting terms Hidden In Plain View has certainly grown up. ‘Bleed For You’ and ‘Ashes Ashes’ have huge singalong parts set next to thick and crunchy guitar parts. It’s a heady mix which will enthrall and captivate music fans acros the world. The energy the band are renowned for live is captured on many of the songs, leaving only a couple of the mid-paced tracks in the middle of the album as disappointing. Perhaps the easiest way to show just how much HIPV has improved is on ‘Twenty Below’ – and trust me when I say this song has never sounded better. Joe Reo’s vocals are stronger than before too, and when the band go down the vocal harmony route (see ‘The Point’ as proof), they sound extremely impressive.
Of course it’s not all sweetness and light. While ‘Garden Statement’ makes six out of six good tracks, ‘The Innocent Ones’ and ‘Halcyon Daze’ let the side down a bit by drifting and meandering through. The latter is a real radio hit mind, it has a real sheen and I wouldn’t be surprised if the bigwigs end up over this song like a rash. Still, ‘American Classic’ and ‘In Memory’ are two songs as good as any other here and back up my beliefs that this is HIPV coming of age. This is a style of music that is becoming a bit tiresome, and it could be argued there are maybe better bands that execute it, but ‘Life In Dreaming’ is a good record that builds on the success of the EP and then some. Well worth checking out and hopefully a sign of a solid year for the label.
www.hiddeninplainview.com
Drive Thru Records
Paul