Customer Reviews

HIDEOUT [Vinyl]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gone are the combination of anthemic builds, pop sensibility, arena rock moments and melancholy melodies of last year's eponymous album. In the absence of this combination is just the melancholy. And that's not to say it's all bad: "Sick Hipster..." and "Two Kinds" are among my favorite of all of the band's tracks. But where songs like "Pitfalls" and "He's a Deep Deep Lake" had multiple dynamics to them, the songs on Hideout seem to emphasize drone and repetition more. That's not to say that I think the album even sounds like MBV, which I have read in other media reviews; I think mood-wise and lyrically it apes mid-'90s The Cure most, with perhaps some touches of Swervedriver (tell me the Lectric backbeat doesn't sound a lot like "Last Train to Satansville") and darker Ride songs.

I'm not saying any of this is bad, just a different cup of tea from the previous album. Cheers to them for not making the same album over again. For casual fans, though, it might be worthwhile to consider downloading on a song-by-song basis rather buying the whole album offhand, though.

Film School re-emerged last year following a long lay-off after their decent debut 2001 album (A Brilliant Career) with the sensational self-titled album, which for me was the best album of 2006, bar none. Thankfully not taking another 5 years between albums, now comes the highly anticipated third album.

"Hideout" (13 tracks, 49 min.) starts off with a blast, first single "Dear Me", followed by an even better "Meanmediah", with lots of distorted guitars and a thundering bass line. The best song of the album (for me anyway) closes the first half of the album, "Two Kinds", a semi-pensive tune with eventually soaring guitars and synths. The second half is less urgent, such as the reflective tracks "Go Down Together" and "Compare", but then it picks up again with a menacing "Florida", and eventually the excellent thundering closer "What I Meant".

Don't get me wrong, this is a fine album, but it suffers in comparison with the brilliant "Film School" album from last year. "Hideout" is steady throughout but misses a couple of the epic songs that highlighted "Film School" and really put that one into the stratosphere. That aside, I still have not had a chance to see these guys in concert and I am really looking forward to a chance to catch them live at some point.

Film Schools' "The Hideout" quickly draws you in with the sensual melody of 'Dear Me' and never lets you go until the final note of 'What I Meant to Say'. This is a very deep, mysterious record that grabs your attention the first play through, but until you pull off the layers, listen by listen, you never quite grasp the complexity of it all. The sound is unique, and the subtle lyrics adds to the beauty of this maserpiece. The band does such a great job of just letting the actual music live and breathe. It is a refreshing change to a lot of the crap out there. I personally believe it was the second best record of 2007, behind Radiohead's "In Rainbows." I urge you to buy it and give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

When I heard Film School was coming out with their third album, I anxiously awaited it. Wow, it's even better than I had hoped! They've perfected a neo-post-punk sound - guitar driven and atmospheric - and developed a great set of tunes here. I especially like Sick Hipster and Lectric, but the entire album is outstanding; you can tell an effort was made to really craft each song. Definitely worth getting!

I'd disagree with a couple of reviews on here, but maybe I have a different take on Film School than the other reviewers. I Just Turned Into a Gas, off of the Alwaysnever EP, is my favorite song of theirs. The sonics of their music, along with the 80's pop sensibility, is what I admire about Film School. They have the outstanding ability to "drone" at times and then synthesize the drone into higher fidelity.

Their music is definitely only for certain moods - I always feel like I should be driving through a sparse, post-industrial city when I'm listening to their music. The singer obviously doesn't have a ton of range, but that is integrated into the sound well. Their music demands attention, and some level of concentration that most bands don't require.

Song for song, Hideout is the most consistent release from San Francisco based dream pop band Film School. For years now they have been on the verge of a truly great album, but always blowing the chance to take it home for the night by giving into cliche, overused pick-up lines. They have lacked originality by choosing to simply copy from the standards of bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo and the Bunnymen or My Bloody Valentine. On Hideout, they still wear their influences on their collective sleeve, but they've become more skillful at doing so.
Songs like "Lectric" and "Two Kinds" are obvious odes to the ghosts of a shoe gazer's past, but stop just short of borrowing anything in particular. Without a doubt, each of the two tracks revive the spirit of My Bloody Valentine's seminal album Loveless, yet both songs manage to do so in a manner that is decidedly unique. Perhaps more importantly, lyricist Greg Bertens has finally grown into his somewhat awkward voice. Subtle inflection and tender lyrics lead to simple melodies that drown in this sea of guitar overdubs, washes of delay and swirling synth riffs. Amidst countless layers of breathy, dream-pop back-up vocals, Bertens' clever and capable ear for countermelody equips him with the ability to send his lead vocals soaring high above the soundscape before they swoop back down to bury themselves deeply into memory: leaving you humming for days and days.
The album pace diminishes down to a snooze as it meanders towards its final moments, specifically the never-ending nap-fest "Florida," the (thankfully) short song "Buzzard Scout," and the hopelessly uninteresting "Plots and Plans." It is the closing bombastic track "What I Meant to Say" that finally wakes you and deftly dances around your lulled awareness with pop precision. Hideout may not be the most original listen, but Film School continues to reign in their influences and have released an enjoyable, satisfying album.

This follows the self-titled debut with less of The Cure, more My Bloody Valentine, in their less feedback-driven stage, and perhaps downbeat moments from the early-90s shoegazer-pop bands. Greg Bertens sounds not as much like Robert Smith. However, as my review of their first CD noted, he's an amazing student and I complement him on his channeling Smith and bandmates' sound into their own. It's more an homage than mimicry, somehow.

The best songs here are the loudest. "Lectric" dares to turn up the speed and the volume and moves with swagger. The closer, "What I Meant to Say," stands out for its evocation of neo-psych such as Lilys in its careful attention to layers and interplay. The rest may boast the talents of Colm Ó Ciosóig of MBV, but it's closer to the bandmember from Snow Patrol also credited.

If the latter affiliation's a plus, you'll like this CD. It tends towards mopey pop rather than full-out sonic blasts, and I miss those. Perhaps more original than the s/t record (also reviewed by me), but this San Francisco-based, but very British-styled group appears to be getting looser and lazier rather than tighter and heavier. It lacks the experimental snatches that could be found on the first record. Instead, it opts for a softer, subdued, more accessible sound. Less derivative of The Cure, and for that the band deserves points for trying. Yet, oddly, I still favor their imitations of earlier British indie bands (it makes sense they are signed to Beggars Banquet) more than most of the songs on this respectable, but too safe a record