A couple of months back we had the pleasure of introducing Norwegian band ‘Hide’ to Nordic Music Review readers, and the band from Narvik have now released their album ‘Light up the Sky’ for our listening pleasure. The band, influenced by some of our personal favourites such as Mogwai and Sigur Ros, play Post Rock with a distinct Norwegian folk bias, and we loved their opening singles ‘Northern Skyline’ and ‘An Ocean in Between’.
This is certainly an album which needs time to get to know and like, its complex and packed full of big sounds, drum beats, and with post and progressive rock influences at the forefront, each song does feel like a 3 course meal in its own right. But stick with it and you’ll be rewarded, because Hide have produced a beast of an album which will keep you interested for the next few months.
They open with ‘Light up the Sky, a relatively delicate opening which plays to the strengths of Sigrid Ryans versatile and pure sounding vocals. But as always it’s the overall band instrumentation which offers so much more to each track. ‘Butterflies’ is more in line with what I was expecting, a marauding song with a big melody. And the pre-debut single ‘Northern Skyline’ remains a stand out track, brilliantly combining post rock and folk influences at the same time.
After the instrumental ‘Intermezzo’, we’re treated to ‘Hide’, which provides great contrasts of sound between a complex rich opening and instrumental sections, and a subtle stripped down chorus. I love these contrasts and want more of it, because I think ‘Hide’ are at their best when they create these distinctions. ‘An Ocean In Between’ remains a completely beautiful song, which is already lodged in my mind for a possible Track of the Year.
This is a big, bold debut album from Hide, and you have to give it time to unpick the knots and wrestle with the complexity of sound. Ok so I cant deny that my favourite tracks are still the 2 pre-album release singles, but that’s mainly a reflection of how good those 2 tracks are. This is an album and band which are difficult to track down unless you’re looking for them really hard, so follow the links below and let us know what you think.