In less than three weeks I will be in my happy place, on my way to San Francisco for the start of New Found Glory’s Sticks & Stones Tour, but working from home has caused me to lose my ability to live with very little sleep. So today was the first day of my “training.” I woke up earlier than normal and wrote about the (hopefully amazing) Boy Meets World spin-off and now am tackling the music off Hidden Hospitals’ EP 002. It’s mature rock for an adult audience, so if you know me…it’s not necessarily my thing.
“Featherweight” has “radio rock” written over every piece, from the gripping intro to the repetitive chorus. The whole time through I couldn’t help but think it was some sort of 30 Seconds to Mars musical baby. Another comparison came with “The Absence of Emotion.” It played like something from Davey Havok, but if he wasn’t giving it his all and was playing it safe.
While there was a lot of “it sounds like so and so,” once I got past those two, I got a real good sense of Hidden Hospitals’ sound. “Picture Perfect” was the point where I wrote down “rock adults like” in my notebook because that’s exactly what it was. I like to categorize music by the festivals/shows it’d be best for. To me every song, including the best to check out “Lullaby” didn’t play like a contender for Warped Tour, but maybe a small stage at Coachella or at least a good slot on the less intense night of KROQ’s annual Almost Acoustic Christmas. That’s the night that usually houses acts like Liam Gallagher and Modest Mouse.
With only five tracks I was able to conclude that Hidden Hospitals wasn’t necessarily for me because let’s face it, I’m mentally 12 and “mature” exists nowhere in my existence, especially when it comes to music. But if you’re into rock that’s got a more defined sound and are into bands like Tides of Man and Children of Nova, then Hidden Hospitals is for you. EP 002 is out now for all the mature folks out there.
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