The Hidden Cameras preview
Empty Bottle, Chicago
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Frequenting a time between ’50s sock-hop pop and Pet Sounds, The Hidden Cameras are often overlooked because of the homosexual lyrics. This year’s Origin: Orphan once again argues for their place among indie rock’s most gifted songwriters and arrangers.
Joel Gibb’s once-touted “gay church music” has evolved without unattaching from its roots, and there are common elements with Origin and the very explicit The Smell Of Our Own, which largely introduced the band in 2003. Elements of doo-wop, surf rock, and refined Elephant 6-isms reign supreme, though there’s a frank concession to emotional gravity taking hold. “Kingdom Come” might have been ripe for a double-entendre in the past, but here Gibb surprisingly sticks to the Biblical metaphor while a stormy reverb on the guitar parts flags down the Four Horsemen. Its effect on the Cameras’ notoriously giddy live performances could be cataclysmic, but having someone pay attention to the music henceforth wouldn’t hurt them one bit.
Gentleman Reg opens.
— Steve Forstneger
Click here to watch “In The NA.”
Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly
