The Secret To Good Living. Hiding Places

Hiding Places is a band from Brooklyn, N.Y. The band is announced as indierockers, but you will encounter a few flavours of indierock on the album. From shoegaze and grunge to slowcore and everything in between. Just as easily I'm remembered of Hole, without the vocal antics, as of Veruca Salt and even Low. Hiding Places captures all these different musical outings and moods on The Secret Of Good Living.

It is the debut album of Hiding Places, following an EP from 2024 called 'Lesson'. The band is a four-piece consisting of Audrey Keelin, Henry Cutting, Nicholas Byrne, and Michael Matsakis, with Keelin and Byrne alternating as lead vocalist. The band members all moved from rural Georgia to Brooklyn to come together, rehearse and record the first album, which is followed by a tour.

The album opens with a riff bringing Blur's 'Beetlebum' to mind, to change tack becoming its own song fast. 'Dead Dove (Your Love Was Never A Waste Of Time)' is a grungy song, with distorted guitars that spring to the fore first. Listening deeper, it becomes clear that the song breathes despite the huge sound of the two guitars (off and on some more). The huge opening riffs do not completely deliver, as the song tones down somewhat halfway. It opens itself up as it were, making the song more interesting to listen to. Audrey Keelin opens as lead singer. She is able to share uncertainty as well as convince all at once with her voice.

'Dead Dove (Your Love Was Never A Waste Of Time)' is a bellwether for the rest of the album. The band loves to share different sides to itself. Second song 'Holy Roller' is a great example of how perfectly dynamics are used by Hiding Places. If I have to place 'Holy Roller' somewhere, it is in between Wednesday's rock songs and 'Death By Diamonds And Pearls' by Band of Skulls. It has the stutter rock/grunge of the latter and that well-studied sloppiness of the former. For me that makes 'Holy Roller' the price song of The Secret To Good Living.

When you go through the album, Hiding Places will surprise you a few more times. It is not afraid of putting you on the wrong foot musically, before coming back to what it is the nucleus of its music. That can include the use of an organ that wasn't there before. You'll find some experimental music here and there. It all makes for interesting listening. You will not see me claiming The Secret To Good Living is a life-changing experience. For that the music on the album sounds too familiar. What The Secret To Good Living is, is a great and interesting debut album from a band that is honing its chops and will most likely only get better soon by playing more. If you're into indierock, Hiding Places is the band to check out next.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order The Secret To Good Living Here:

https://hidingplacesnc.bandcamp.com/album/the-secret-to-good-living-2