Candy Claws
Hidden Lands (Twosyllable)This Fort Collins, Colo., octet deliberately daubs each blob of sound onto its canvas, even though the image is gauzy at best. Hidden Lands has a dreamlike quality, with vocals a couple of layers removed from the instrumentation, each song containing a sample from another song on the album. Watery plunks and plops take center stage as the music guides you blindfolded through a moss-carpeted fairy forest. The song titles each reference the elements, although it’s unclear what that has to do with a song like “Silent Time of Earth,” rich with Moogs and theremin and a loungey melody that probably sounds great on the hi-fi. Perhaps that’s not the point. Perhaps we’re meant to do that gallery dance of standing back, taking things in, then slowly inching forward to observe each meticulous brushstroke, maybe even catching a glimpse of a fairy wing out of the corner of our eye. (Fri., 12mid, Soho Lounge)
This article appears in March 18 • 2011.