Hideout

Film School

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2007)
• Original Release Date: September 11, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Beggars Banquet
• ASIN: B000T7QX5A
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #118,425 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Their second full-length builds on the band's pretty, shoegazer pop and richly textured space rock soundscapes by emphasizing powerful rhythms and beautiful melodies that take the songwriting to a new level. "Hideout" is more like a sonic galaxy that engulfs you from all angles. You're enveloped by layers of reverb, loops, and the interplay of male/female voices. A driving, forceful rhythm section fuels a propulsive energy that gives an urgent quality to much of the album, whereas other tracks convey a wistful melancholy. It's this combination of ethereal atmosphere and strong rhythm that makes the album wholly compelling and promises a powerful live experience. "Wonderfully off-kilter pop songs" - NME.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I agree with Paul's review before mine..., October 9, 2007

By	Wounded Knee (Ohio's North Coast...) - See all my reviews

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Third album good but not the sensation of last year's album, September 28, 2007

By	Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best CD of 2007 that you have listened to.....yet, January 11, 2008

By	Jason Sanders "weird fishes" (Edmond, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.