3 out of 5

Label: Level Plane

Producer: Hidden Chord

Interesting that Knol Tate – the lead for Hidden Chord – was part of Killsadie, ’cause that whole angular rock-fusion style that lurched into the millions of projects that sprange from that band is definitely twirling in the background of Hidden Chord.  When things start off with a rattling noise leading into chipper drums and a ringing guitar tone on ‘A Fictional literature…” you’d swear you’re in for a snarling punk nigh-masterpiece, Tate sneering through spoken lyrics as the guitar and bass swing around one another in poppy yet menacing tones.  And it carries over into the next track, ‘A Throttling,’ where the keys ring up mad dissonance in the background before clattering to the forefront for the conclusion, but you’re just nodding your head now, not jerking your whole body about.  And for the next few tracks – some instrumental bits, some other poppy / punky tunes – that pattern continues, where the songs sound great and ring a lot of sound out of guitar, bass, drums, but the initial surge of energy has dwindled for some reason, despite some really awesomely bitter and smart lyrics that find cleverly evil pokes at fame and music and other cynical things (favorite line is something about injecting heroin into children’s sores because they’re little pricks yayyy)…  And it’s just that the chords change, and there’s pauses between tracks, but Hidden Chord really rocks out one great rhythm and then has trouble moving too far beyond it.  Any given moment you tune in is worthwhile, but you’re most caught by that opening track, and the closing track confirms that the band has more to offer, starting with a sick stripped down bass beat that they build up into a noisy conclusion.

This was a surprisingly poppy release from Level Plane at the time (they would get into more non-hardcore stuff as the label grew… before it folded (I weep)) and it kicks the lazy pants off of similar dancey punk groups, just ’cause the attitude feels legit.  It’s definitely same-songy pretty quickly, but, hey, it’s only an EP.