HIDDEN HOSPITALS | Liars | Album Review

Hidden Hospitals is a band that people may not know about, and something else that's strange is that neither of the bands that the members were previously apart of are well known names either. This project was formed in 2011 and consists of members of two progressive rock bands in the form of Damiera and Kiss Kiss, and after releasing two back to back EPs the band put out their first album "Surface Tension" in 2015. What's really to be considered is that they really don't fit into any genre, and they really cannot be compared to other bands in terms of what their style is. People have compared the style of this band to "Diamond Eyes" era Deftones as well as Coldplay and Radiohead but even with those comparisons, the vocals of David Reymond placed on top of the atmospheric and melodic instrumentation aren't as comparable to anything else like you'd probably think. "Liars" is the band's sophomore disc as well as their first as a trio considering the departure of guitarist Steve Downs, which is considered as the main backbone of this disc's primary style, which is much less guitar driven than its predecessor and more driven on electronics. When people usually hear that a band is pushing the guitars away in favor of a more "pop" centered style, they usually think the band is heading towards mainstream and erasing what made them so good in the first place. One thing is certain when listening to "Liars" for the first time and that is that this band still has their identity in place even if the music has seen a stylistic shift. 

The sophomore set from this now three-piece band has actually been teased for the past year since two singles made it to the public during the summer of last year, those being "Better Off" and "Smile And Wave". The track "Better Off" was the first of these two to be released and definitely carries the electronic styling that the band set out to tackle when writing for this album. It's definitely a good choice for a first single and even though it's really just an electronic beat being repeated for three minutes, there's still enough about this track that makes it worth listening to. "Smile And Wave" is the track that has stronger qualities to it, and it's proof that the band wasn't exactly going to abandon guitars full on during these sessions. The guitars and drums mesh together well with the other elements of the song, such as the more positive sounding tone that both pre-released singles have featured. After this, it feels like the band waited to release anything else from the album, releasing two more singles before the album officially came out. The title cut is one of those, and this is probably my least favorite song on this album as it is really just OK. However, "Acid Rain", the final single to tease this album's release is much the same experience as the first two songs with a good balance between rock and electronic and great vocalwork from David Reymond. 

As you listen to the rest of the album, there is definitely that bigger focus placed on the electronic aspect, and a few tracks seem like straight up dance tracks that are destined to have remixes made from them in the future. The big difference is that there is actual effort within these songs to make them worth listening to, and what's surprising is that the guitarwork has a heavy presence in almost all of these tracks, so it doesn't feel like just one sound being executed throughout the entire album. There are even elements that would fit right at home on the band's previous album, with the song "Typecast" being the best example of that. This could be the loudest song on this album with its prominent guitarwork with only a minimal amount of electronic-twinged music to let the verses and the bridge stand out, and it works perfectly. "Typecast" could arguably be my favorite song on this entire album, but there is also the track that comes directly after entitled "Memories" which has a very entrancing electronic beat and some melodic clean guitarwork in each chorus, in addition to well-penned lyricism that can really be found throughout this entire album. Other tracks like album opener "Razor Blades", the more dance-driven "Pulling Teeth", and atmospheric "Taking Sides" are proof that this band is trying to create an amazing album that resonates on all fronts while rarely ever slamming the brakes or encountering bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

Even though the main criticism I have with this album is that it is a bit short at just around 33 minutes in length, and four of this album's tracks were altogether put out before the entirety of this album was even unveiled, it is a safe bet that whenever these are the only complaints I have about an album, it is proof that there was something excellent being prepared in the studio for fans to listen to. Really, if anything, these 10 tracks are all perfectly paced and don't overextend or feel too overly short, even if most of these tracks are around three minutes in length with very few of them ever hitting four minutes. Overall, Hidden Hospitals might have slightly shifted their sound on this sophomore effort, but actually might have ended up surpassing their previous album in quality. These men may not be a traditional rock band that follows the same trends as everyone else, but in my opinion, they are a band that can deliver an album that is just as sound and technically well put together as other bands, and should definitely get much more attention and appreciation than they have gotten so far. If you are a fan of well-put together music, this is an album that needs to be seeked out as soon as you can find it. Even if you aren't a fan of this kind of music, this album provides some well deserved hospitality to any music fan.

RATING: 9/10 

What did you think about the record? Was it good? Was it bad? Let me know in the comments below. And of course, these are only my opinions. If your opinions are different, awesome! If they're similar, then that's great, too. So, don't hesitate- comment to me about it down below. Take care.