These New Puritans - Hidden
Critic Score
Based on 29 reviews
2010 Ratings: #19 / 924
Year End Rank: #23
User Score
Based on 149 ratings
2010 Rank: #105
Liked by 1 person
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Telegraph
These New Puritans' Hidden is a magically bleak, fantastically original record.
100
The Guardian

Hidden is not just the most original record to emerge from Britain this year, but the most unfathomable: an immaculate enigma.

90
Drowned in Sound

Despite the handful of standout tracks, what makes Hidden unique is the way it flows as a cohesive whole.

90
Spectrum Culture
One of the most overpowering and comprehensive records in recent years that, like the most audacious pieces of fine art that it invokes, is nearly too bold for its own good.
90
The Fly
‘Hidden’ is a bold, ambitious album of carefully crafted chaos, and the first truly great album of 2010.
90
Consequence of Sound
The sound they’re crafting is as fresh as it comes.
90
NME
Former students of post punk step out of the classroom into a league of their own.
90
musicOMH
Pretentious? Undoubtedly. Overblown? Yes, of course it is, but we expected nothing less.
89
Paste
British foursome gets wonderfully bizarre on second album.
82
Beats Per Minute
Despite the band’s penchant for grandiose gestures, the album runs a healthy 43 minutes and doesn’t seem to drag at any points. Overall, this is a bold step forward for the band; I can’t wait to hear where they’ll go next.
82
Pitchfork
UK post-punk revivalists tear up their own rulebook and start from scratch on this ambitious, darkly experimental second album.
80
The Irish Times

Hidden’s magic is in the details – a sharpened blade sound effect here, an ominous oboe line there – which creates an often chilling atmosphere.

80
Q Magazine
The whole album passes without anything you could call a tune, but there's a keen intelligence at work: while fiercely odd, it's frequently electrifying, too.
80
Record Collector
Invoking the power of the sea, walking trees and talking rivers, the beauty of the more ethereal moments such as Drum Courts–Where Coral Lie and White Chords soon will out – a salve after the onslaught on an album that should be visible (and audible) to all.
80
Prefix

Hidden won’t change British indie, but it should obliterate all expectations as far as These New Puritans are concerned.

80
Tiny Mix Tapes

This record is a tremendous achievement, but in the end, the grandeur of Hidden can be a little much to take in all at once.

80
God Is in the TV
While not an easy listen, give it some time and an open mind and it is an album you can easily find interest and intrigue in.
80
NOW Magazine

Here we are not even two years later and the band has taken a huge leap forward. Or, more accurately, sideways. Nothing in the angular post-punk of 08’s Beat Pyramid suggested the band was capable of something this novel.

80
Mojo
The overall result is not the studious mess it could have been, but an adventurous, challenging and futuristic recording, albeit one that might cause a little aural indigestion.
80
Uncut

Difficult to pin down, Hidden is even harder to forget.

80
The Skinny

Pounding, thrumming and pulsing from beginning to end (save for some beautifully sedate arrangements from a brass and woodwind ensemble), Hidden employs bass and percussion like indigenous drums of war.

80
Resident Advisor
No accident that this number's buried towards the back end, as it's clear that Barnett's more interested in challenging listeners' expectations than soothing them with a sweet little hook.
80
FACT Magazine

There’s no doubt Hidden could have so easily been a sprawling mess, but it’s unified by its drive towards something entirely original, and it succeeds. Like all breaks from the past it feels uncomfortable at first, but soon you’ll wonder when the rest of the world is going to catch up.

80
AllMusic

Ultimately, Hidden is the sound of an ambitious young band as eager to use every tool at its disposal as it is to avoid studiously doing what's been done before.

75
XLR8R
Call it whatever you want—Barnett and his bandmates are just getting started with their musical experiments.
75
A.V. Club

These New Puritans are still figuring out the right balance, but Hidden remains an impressive step forward.

70
PopMatters

Whatever its flaws, Hidden stands as a bracingly original statement from a band entirely too new to have this many good ideas. Come December, it may not make any “best of” lists, but it’s certainly one of the most fascinating albums we’re likely to see this year.

70
SPIN

Hidden would be unbearably pretentious if Barnett and crew didn’t execute their mission with such wild-eyed determination. Instead, it’s a chilling thrill.

50
Under the Radar

Hidden, the young British group’s sophomore full-length, was made much in the same vein as 2007’s Beat Pyramid, but at times it’s even less coherent.

Hexo
40

Imagine if Swans and Xiu Xiu made a millenial pop album together and were more aggressively british, and you have a good idea of what this sounds like. This album frequently feels like a drag more than anything worth listening to. What few good ideas it does have are generally drowned out by the annoying things in the production.
Fave tracks: Time Xone
Least fave track: Attack Music or White Chords

blvckgovt
80

Fantastic post-punk record. These New Puritans came out of nowhere for me. I recall one of their songs playing on the Spotify artist radio and I had to check this out. It's really great. The album carries this minimal dark vibe throughout. Nothing really sounds like what they're trying to do, it's like post-punk stripped down... tribal post-punk? Anywho, this is awesome and I highly recommend it for anyone who is a fan of New Order, Sleaford Mods, Talking Heads or goth music in general. ... read more

CheapandLethal
85

Great

20

Final: 20

HYENA
92

This is the kind of record that transports us to a grand venue, even if we're sitting at home in our comfy armchair. The production is clear and majestic, the orchestration is grandiose, and the details in every song are both raw and flawless. I don't know why but when I listen to this record I always think of Peter Greenway.

Hexo
40

Imagine if Swans and Xiu Xiu made a millenial pop album together and were more aggressively british, and you have a good idea of what this sounds like. This album frequently feels like a drag more than anything worth listening to. What few good ideas it does have are generally drowned out by the annoying things in the production.
Fave tracks: Time Xone
Least fave track: Attack Music or White Chords

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Track List

1Time Xone
2:06
76
2We Want War
7:23
66
3Three Thousand
2:49
69
4Hologram
2:22
71
5Attack Music
4:48
74
6Fire-Power
3:20
63
7Orion
4:31
64
8Canticle
1:12
68
9Drum Courts-Where Corals Lie
6:14
57
10White Chords
3:42
59
115
4:30
72
Total Length: 42 minutes
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