Rating: NNN
It’s not until three tracks into the Hidden Cameras’ fifth album that we’re reminded of the term “gay church music” once used by leader Joel Gibb to describe the band’s sound. His famously twisted take on acoustic folk is now overshadowed by an infatuation with pop in general, embracing elements of 80s synth pop and new wave along with the choirs and perverted/subverted campfire songs that initially gained the group notoriety.
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Along with the synths and studio glitter, Gibb’s also indulging his appetite for orchestration more than ever before. It works beautifully sometimes but at other moments sounds silly and exaggerated. Then again, it wouldn’t really be the Hidden Cameras without a touch of camp, would it?
The best moments are some of the strongest of Gibb’s career, but too much of the material lacks the hooks and pure pop sensibility to make this the truly great album we were hoping for.
Top track: In The Na
Hidden Cameras play the Opera House December 5.
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