aaamusic | On 06, Dec 2010

Joel Gibb aka The Hidden Cameras is set to play a one-off acoustic show this Wednesday (8th December) @ Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London

Joel is currently working on the follow-up to ‘Origin:Orphan’ in Berlin.

The Hidden Cameras made a dazzling return with their fifth album ‘Origin:Orphan’ on Arts & Crafts (North American home to Broken Social Scene, Feist and Gonzales) in March 2010. Where previous album ‘AWOO’ dropped much of the harps and horns and intentionally limited its production, showcasing the bare bones of band leader Joel Gibb’s songwriting, ‘Origin:Orphan’ is more akin to the lush orchestral arrangements and heady pop songs found on third album ‘Mississauga Goddam’. With the utmost flare and charm, Joel Gibb & Co have created their most spirited and sophisticated sounding record to date.

The Hidden Cameras emerged from Toronto’s burgeoning gay and indie-rock scenes at the turn of the millennium with an inspiring sound, cleverly crude lyrics and dramatic live performances that the band have taken to churches and art galleries with forty-piece dance troupes. They even performed in Munich, Germany during the halftime of a Bayern Munich football match in front of a crowd of over 100,000 football fans. ‘Origin:Orphan’ follows in the footsteps of their three hugely acclaimed full-lengths, 2003’s ‘The Smell Of Our Own’, 2004’s ‘Mississauga Goddam’ and 2006’s ‘AWOO’ plus rediscovered debut album 2000’s ‘Ecce Homo’.

While we still find echoes of ‘AWOO’ with the urgent, scrubbed guitar of ‘He Falls To Me’ or the wholesome orchestral symphonies of ‘Mississauga Goddam’ in the affecting ‘Colour Of A Man’, there’s no doubt The Hidden Cameras have forged a new, fuller sound and achieve more refined song writing, as with the haunting ‘Walk On’ or the awesome title track ‘Origin:Orphan’. Gibb is no longer hiding his explicitly dark lyrics behind the smooth and comforting realm of MOR pop rock, his grand ideas and proclamations are backed by just as impressive production and composition, as complex and intricate as the topics he sings of.

The Hidden Cameras – In The NA by createspark

What the Critics Said:

“The Cameras’ fifth is their crowning moment… Virtually every tune bursts with exuberance, invention and inspiration” 5/5 The Guardian

“’Origin:Orphan’ marks a big fat notch on the masterpiece bed post and exemplifies everything that is glorious and good about cleverly made pop music” 9/10 NME

“When indie can be bothered, it makes immense pop songs… But ‘Underage’- with its darned hymnal choruses, rinky dink tunesmithery, button-pushing key changes and munificent melody really is a triumph” Drowned in Sound

“’Origin:Orphan’ finds them finally able to out-wow the full spectacle of their magnificent shows, proving they are a serious and sophisticated musical force to be reckoned with as well as a mind-blowingly good gigging proposition” BBC Music

“Mellifluous, wholesome-sounding gospel-pop strummers” 4/5 Uncut

“They’ve seldom been as audaciously technicolor or as flourish-friendly. In a fair world, this would be snapped up by the shed load” 4/5 Attitude

“The Hidden Cameras are making music of any shape or form – there are no rules or barriers. It’s a free-for-all of musical freedom and creativity which is incomparably refreshing and needs to be listened to.” Virgin Music

“The Hidden Cameras are potentially a global pop phenomenon” GT Magazine

“Stunningly inventive” Monocle