A lot can change in the music landscape in just a short period of time. Hiatuses that start out as a “short time away” to regroup and re-charge can occasionally feel like decades, and add a pandemic to the mix where every day feels exactly the same, and that time can multiply itself. Hidden In Plain View are back with their first release of new material since the 2015 EP entitled Animal, and they’ve called this new record Tantrums. Whereas their most recognized album, Life In Dreaming, had the lofty expectations of matching their big hooks with even bigger melodic payoffs, Tantrums seems even more fully-realized as the band sound as re-energized as they’ve ever been and appear poised to take their sound to new audiences.
The album launches off on the right foot with “Temper,” an electric-guitar based song that reverberates off the speakers in the best way possible, with some well-timed, layered vocals in the second verse to round out their sound. The big payoff comes in the bold, anthemic chorus that features some more vocal harmonies and great instrumentation to round out their full-sounding approach to songwriting. The true gem on the record comes in the single, “Wildfire” that opens up with a great guitar riff before lead vocalist Joe Reo commands the song with some well thought-out lyrics to match the upbeat tempo. The song reminds me a bit of the sound Hit The Lights were going for on their Summer Bones album, with equally-pleasing results.
Lead single, “Ragdoll” starts off with a frenetic drum beat before adding a semi-abrasive guitar tone to the mix before Reo steers the song in the right direction with his poised vocal approach. The track features a great bass line in the middle section of the song that prepares the listener for the pure wall of sound that they channel into the closing bars of the single. “Posion Ivy” sounds exactly what I would expect a polished emo band to sound like in the latter stages of their career, meaning that it’s well-constructed, stays true to their sound and strengths, while still adding some new layers of complexity to it. Album closer, “Tailor Made” is probably the most interesting song on Tantrums in that it sounds so much different than the material that came before it, and resonates in the listener’s headspace well after the song wraps up. It really does take the audience on a thrilling ride over the 5-plus minutes of the last song on the EP, and it never overstays its welcome.
Overall, it’s great to have another emo band from the Drive-Thru era coming back to make new music for fresh ears. Hidden In Plain View have accomplished the near impossible by staying true to the sound that made them a household name in the early 00’s while still moving the needle forward in their musical journey. Hopefully that will keep the momentum and positivity high as the band explores the possibility of even more new music in the near future.