Hailing from Dublin, HIDDEN FROM NOWHERE feature Ste O’Grady (vocals/guitar/violin), Dylan Troy (drums/vocals), Blayne Scott (guitar) and bassist Paul Hickey and they are making a taut and pleasurable racket with this self-released 6-track EP/ mini-album “Farewell To Glory.”
There’s nothing especially new about the HFN sound, mind, and indeed the gutsy vocals and brooding atmosphere of opening twosome “Hey You” and “Breathe Without Me” can’t fail to raise spectres such as early Nirvana, Wilt and Husker Du, although that said, both songs are compact, well-recorded and convincingly performed.
Third track “Try Not To Think” is immediately more arresting, initially slow and spooked and reminiscent of Slint as it gradually chimes its’ way into life. There are some nice, unexpected use of harmonies, O’Grady’s violin finally breaks through the skin and the whole band deserve credit for not succumbing to the well-trodden ‘quiet-loud’ formula, instead opting to maintain the song’s creepy-crawly feel throughout. A good move.
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“Rock Scar” continues to impress with its’ ‘compressed tranny radio’ vocals and careers nicely along in a Wilt-buy-the-Buzzcocks-a-round kinda way, while O’Grady seemingly addresses the limitations of his chosen format during “Forgotten Heroes” (“we’re not unique, we just imitate!”) and the whole caboodle ends on a high with the aggressive swagger of the fighting fit “Reel It Out.”
Hidden From Nowhere, then, are poised and lurking in rock’s shadows. They are would-be sonic assassins who could well draw blood on a wider scale.
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