''Hidden'' (often stylized as ĦỊĐĐỂŅ) is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by British

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

band These New Puritans. Featuring a wider sonic palette than previous work and sections played by a Czech orchestra, it was produced by frontman Jack Barnett and former Bark Psychosis leader Graham Sutton during 2009. Before their second album ''Hidden'' was released, Barnett revealed that he had been writing music for

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

and stated that the aim was for a final product where "

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

meets

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich descr ...

". Barnett learned

music notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proces ...

in order to write the classical parts of the album, especially the

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

and

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Ree ...

audio tracks. The mixing process was undertaken by Dave Cooley, who had previously focused on alternative hip hop and

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volum ...

artists, in Los Angeles using Barnett's input. Angular Recording Corporation and Domino Records released ''Hidden'' in most territories on 18 January 2010; the North American release date was 2 March. Angular's press release describes the album as including:

Six-foot Japanese Taiko drums, a thirteen piece brass and woodwind ensemble, sub-heavy beats, prepared piano, a children’s choir, Foley recording techniques (including a melon with cream crackers attached struck by a hammer, used to simulate the sound of a human head being smashed), and the ethereal voice of Heather Marlatt from dream-pop group Salem.Angular website announcement

''Hidden'' was voted NME album of the year for 2010.

Legacy

Reflecting on "We Want War" in 2023, Tom Ewing of '' Freaky Trigger'' wrote: "A rare thing by 2010, almost extinct now – the big statement artrock single. These New Puritans were scrappy post-punkers who suddenly reinvented themselves with an extraordinary new sound – part 17th century

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, part

, telling a story of the old unquiet ghosts of England."

Track listing

All songs written by Jack Barnett, unless otherwise stated.

Charts

References

{{Authority control These New Puritans albums Domino Recording Company albums 2010 albums Angular Recording Corporation albums