After Foreign
Fields beautiful debut album, Anywhere But Where I am, I've been waiting
for some new material from them. Their track Little Lover has
been floating around for a few months, and is the currently the only track from the EP that has been released on Spotify - so I embedded the EP from Bandcamp at the bottom of the page to fulfil your listening needs. What
I Kept In Hiding seems to have a kind of change in scenery, from
scenes of nature and open landscapes that dominated Anywhere But Where
I am, this EP is evolving into something caliginous - with a sense of
solitude that cannot help but emerge from each track. The artwork for this EP is a little different to the artwork for Anywhere But Where I Am, but it's exquisite and a preview of their flourishing sound and changing landscapes. It's a beautiful
landscape that they've created within this progression of their growth of sound
following their debut.
Electronic elements have always been
incorporated in their style, but within this EP it feels as though they've
pushed it even further. Added flesh to the already opulent force that they
created that grew into Anywhere But Where I am. The opening
track, I Have Your Weapons, slowing emerges with lavish
string textures and lines, in this cacophony of sound that produces this
unavoidable subtle weight, which is a demonstration of their
work prior to this and their evolved sound.
As much as the first half of this EP is full of
intensity and exquisite textures, the second half is where it proceeds to
develop further past the already high standards of their debut. The darkness
within the soundscape slowly materialises, not just through their lyrics that
have had this consistent sense of depth but as their instrumentation slowly
unfolds to join and work in parallels. Subtle Weight, the
track title that summarises the intensity of the EP, unravels a sparse texture
- electronic swirls and languid arpeggiated piano tones - with adjoining lines
such as "I can tell by the look in your eyes, you were already blind /
and I am just a child so lost in his way / I am broken, bruised, naked and
covered in shame". Hold Me Down is nearly seven minutes
of pure gold - falling plucked guitar melodies layered upon one another, with
additions of electronic elements, that flourishes into this exquisite string
section for the concluding minute of the track. Hold Me Down feels
somehow empowering, with this driving force to keep moving and forgetting -
"you can't keep holding me down, when I'm already gone".
As much as Anywhere But Where I Am allowed you to get away from your daily life, with their vivid landscapes that allowed you "to see mountains," trees, rivers and lakes, What I Kept In Hiding allows just as much of an escape but provides a different destination. If this EP is their pitstop between their first and second album, I can't wait to hear what they produce next.
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