Word: tnp
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Jack Barnett is a conductor; he is not a performer. The second album from These New Puritans (TNP), “Hidden,” is an audacious break from the somewhat-restrained alternative rock of their debut, 2008’s “Beat Pyramid,” as Barnett, the group’s songwriter and vocalist, becomes the conductor of a full-blown operatic rock album. The term “operatic” conjures images of perfected, grandiose voices, melodramatic gestures and conventional melodies. But “Hidden?...
Returning to their British roots, TNP have referenced the Benjamin Britten opera “Peter Grimes” as an influence for their latest forray into musical experimentation. Fusing these operatic overtones with London electronica movements—dubstep and dancehall—Barnett has conceived an album which ricochets from ostentatious and oppressive climaxes to moments of melodic escapism. The result is a somewhat tiring journey, but it is a ride worth taking...
...retains the ceaseless drum beats which adorn every track, but here they are lighter and seem to caress the piano melody. Meanwhile, Barnett’s unpretentious voice is freed from the digital modification it goes through elsewhere. In holding back from electronic manipulation and overt classicism, TNP unearth a true gem. “Hologram” is a small nest of musical escapism, and the lyrics tackle a similar theme—“Shut the door / Because I’m staying here / The world might disappear / Under blankets of snow.” The song...
...TNP have attempted something on an immense scale. Their ambition sometimes gets the better of them. The incorporation of operatic influences into electronic experimentation often forms overstuffed tracks with too great an intensity. While the beats embrace a dancehall headiness, there are moments when the variety of elements do not quite merge into a coherent contiguity of meaning and sound. Their attempt is interesting and provocative and it is an ambitious step which deserves merit for its imagination. It almost works, but “Hidden” narrowly misses its target...
...Bellow hasn't quit his day job, either, as executive editor-at-large at Doubleday Books. But he is as enthusiastic about TNP as if he were running Random House. "The New Pamphleteer is really just a couple of book editors who have decided they want to do something different and fun for the hell of it. Whether that makes us a viable business remains to be seen...