It was 2005, I was young and naïve. In that summer I was attending sixth-form and I was about to embark on a work placement at Artrocker magazine then based in Highbury, London. I was passionate about two things, writing and music (although I must confess that I was reasonably new to the 'music scene' attending my first festival a year earlier.) After having a few articles published here and there the demo's and promo's came clattering through my letterbox regularly. On one such occasion came a CD mysteriously titled 'Zum Kult Film EP' alongside the band name scrawled in green marker pen. These New Puritans? Sounds intriguing. In my dank, perpetually cold Cornish bedroom I listened to the demo and what I heard was akin to the downtrodden austere isolation I felt I lived with; a bachelors degree and a portion of a masters later you realise you've probably never had it so good, student life is good for boosting the immune system if nothing else.
On a struggling laptop I used what little music knowledge I had and wrote a review, published in Artrocker, my first full page feature and apparently the bands also. I read that article back this morning and I cringed. I was young and clumsy with language but I 'spose there is no denying my enthusiasm. Zum Kult Film EP still remains one of my favourites and I have kept that demo to this day. The EP signals the start of something which has become one of my most admired and adored bands of all time; and although slightly embarrassed by the article of a few years ago I feel I should have another shot with the release of their second album 'Hidden' which was out in shops last week.
It is all so easy to lump These New Puritans with apparent influences, when listening to the new album you can hear strains of Neu! and Einstürzende Neubauten alongside The Blue Orchids or maybe even a gentle prod in the direction of Robert Wyatt but I feel listing similar bands somehow does an injustice to the bands uniqueness and musical intelligence. They are, I feel one of the most important bands of the last decade, never loosing integrity or selling-out to a nation of youngsters vegetating in-front of T4 (although I am sure there are worse crimes.)
From the very off-set 'Hidden' is absorbing with a strikingly melancholic introduction in brass, immersing whilst simultaneously putting you at a detached emotional distance before the aural puncture of 'We Want War' brings you right back and sitting to attention. This, also the first single of this release is one of the best 'songs' (for want of a better word) I have heard in recent times and certainly the best this year, although we are only in February it will prove formidable to surpass. Within seven minutes we are taken on an exploratory journey, well honed with every aspect of the intricate minutiae a multi faceted and breathtakingly intelligent progression and this goes for the duration of the album. Throughout, with careful listening we hear recordings of chains and knives interwoven with possible gravel and hammers hitting a variety of objects but then again I could be completely wrong. That's the thing, there is enough to keep you thinking and pondering almost indefinitely.
I don't wish to get too hung-up on analysing the album song-by-song and should this be the first time you've heard of the album (you must be living in a cave somewhere uncharted) I feel it'd be nice for you to discover the albums contents of your own although admittedly slightly guided volition. The comprising tracks although of individual merit are best listened to in the order of the album, tracks referring back to others and vice-versa, a concept-album maybe, more so than the first album 'Beat Pyramid' anyway. If you are These New Puritans savvy, Hidden will no doubt introduce you to a new phase of the bands sound demonstrating their ingenious versatility. Tracks such as 'Attack Music' and 'Hologram' are poles apart but sit discerningly in situe in the albums progression. 'Drum Courts - Where Corals Lie' shows a tender side with a culmination in brass reprise. Hidden is beautiful, and I had to think twice about using such a seemingly haphazard statement; I use the word only when I absolutely mean it and this album certainly deserves the rare accolade. Beauty is not easily achievable with instruments and machines and computers.
I can only now implore you to purchase the album and I am sure the decision to do so will be one of the better judgments you make this month. Please also have a look around the bands website, an example of aesthetic worthiness: http://www.thesenewpuritans.com/
If you are unfamiliar with the work of These New Puritans and wish to sample their previous output it may be worth trying to track down a copy of 'Navigate-Navigate' or the 'Now Pluvial EP' and of course 'Beat Pyramid'. The first two may prove tricky as they were limited vinyl releases but are more than worth the effort of searching.
(Image: CheekMagazine)
On a struggling laptop I used what little music knowledge I had and wrote a review, published in Artrocker, my first full page feature and apparently the bands also. I read that article back this morning and I cringed. I was young and clumsy with language but I 'spose there is no denying my enthusiasm. Zum Kult Film EP still remains one of my favourites and I have kept that demo to this day. The EP signals the start of something which has become one of my most admired and adored bands of all time; and although slightly embarrassed by the article of a few years ago I feel I should have another shot with the release of their second album 'Hidden' which was out in shops last week.
It is all so easy to lump These New Puritans with apparent influences, when listening to the new album you can hear strains of Neu! and Einstürzende Neubauten alongside The Blue Orchids or maybe even a gentle prod in the direction of Robert Wyatt but I feel listing similar bands somehow does an injustice to the bands uniqueness and musical intelligence. They are, I feel one of the most important bands of the last decade, never loosing integrity or selling-out to a nation of youngsters vegetating in-front of T4 (although I am sure there are worse crimes.)
From the very off-set 'Hidden' is absorbing with a strikingly melancholic introduction in brass, immersing whilst simultaneously putting you at a detached emotional distance before the aural puncture of 'We Want War' brings you right back and sitting to attention. This, also the first single of this release is one of the best 'songs' (for want of a better word) I have heard in recent times and certainly the best this year, although we are only in February it will prove formidable to surpass. Within seven minutes we are taken on an exploratory journey, well honed with every aspect of the intricate minutiae a multi faceted and breathtakingly intelligent progression and this goes for the duration of the album. Throughout, with careful listening we hear recordings of chains and knives interwoven with possible gravel and hammers hitting a variety of objects but then again I could be completely wrong. That's the thing, there is enough to keep you thinking and pondering almost indefinitely.
I don't wish to get too hung-up on analysing the album song-by-song and should this be the first time you've heard of the album (you must be living in a cave somewhere uncharted) I feel it'd be nice for you to discover the albums contents of your own although admittedly slightly guided volition. The comprising tracks although of individual merit are best listened to in the order of the album, tracks referring back to others and vice-versa, a concept-album maybe, more so than the first album 'Beat Pyramid' anyway. If you are These New Puritans savvy, Hidden will no doubt introduce you to a new phase of the bands sound demonstrating their ingenious versatility. Tracks such as 'Attack Music' and 'Hologram' are poles apart but sit discerningly in situe in the albums progression. 'Drum Courts - Where Corals Lie' shows a tender side with a culmination in brass reprise. Hidden is beautiful, and I had to think twice about using such a seemingly haphazard statement; I use the word only when I absolutely mean it and this album certainly deserves the rare accolade. Beauty is not easily achievable with instruments and machines and computers.
I can only now implore you to purchase the album and I am sure the decision to do so will be one of the better judgments you make this month. Please also have a look around the bands website, an example of aesthetic worthiness: http://www.thesenewpuritans.com/
If you are unfamiliar with the work of These New Puritans and wish to sample their previous output it may be worth trying to track down a copy of 'Navigate-Navigate' or the 'Now Pluvial EP' and of course 'Beat Pyramid'. The first two may prove tricky as they were limited vinyl releases but are more than worth the effort of searching.
(Image: CheekMagazine)
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