Remember that post-punk band from a couple years ago that sounded an awful lot like the natural evolution of Joy Division or Bloc Party? Well, forget about ‘em. These New Puritans’ sophomore effort Hidden both takes the band into uncharted (largely guitar-devoid) waters and suggests that frontman Jack Barnett wasn’t just being overly ambitious when he quipped that the Puritans “want to be everything.” Drawing on influences ranging from modern classicism and Nigerian hip-hop to Britney Spears (no joke) and the Wu-Tang Clan, Hidden has a little something to pacify the palates of virtually any art rock connoisseur. Recently, we had the chance to catch up with Barnett to discuss the making of the album, the weirdness of the mainstream, the limitations of experimental music and the band’s divergent influences.
First off, thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. Hidden has received a lot of critical praise so far. Has all the positive reception been at all overwhelming, or do you guys even read the reviews?
It’s been quite nice to hear that people have liked it. I do read some reviews, it can be quite interesting to hear what people think.
Along with “masterpiece” and “magnum opus,” I keep reading the word “pretentious” used to describe Hidden. Was there any concern when you were making the record that all the sounds and effects could become distracting or seem like overkill?
Pretentious is the most ridiculous word, I don’t really understand it. We’re not as pretentious as the bands playing jangly guitars trying to look all cool and appeal to everyone. That’s the world of pretension and compromise to me. Maybe if you read the list of things on the press release it might sound pretentious but this is more human and emotional than our last album, I reckon.
Hidden seems like an album that’s deliberately antagonistic, like it’s meant to make listeners feel that they’re under attack. Any truth to that?
No. Actually, part of what I meant by “anti-experimental” was that we don’t want to alienate most people like “experimental” music does – we actually think the mainstream is the weirdest place to be and are influenced by a lot of pop and things. We want to make something beautiful. Sometimes it’s nice to have some terror with the beauty.
You’ve described These New Puritans as “anti-experimental.” I take this to mean that every aspect of a Puritans record is deliberately included rather than just stumbled upon. When I first heard this album, I got the feeling that all the elements were included for a very specific reason, to convey a very specific mood. Are there certain moods that Hidden was intentionally designed to convey?
Yes, every sound is thought about. That’s something I like about classical music – that the composer has total control of his sounds.
You’ve been portrayed as the dictator of the band. How much collaboration was involved with Hidden?
I do most of the music but the percussion skills of George [Barnett] and Tom [Hein] are very important because they have a very unnatural way of playing. George is the fixer and takes care of all the visuals. So it’s not like we collaborate, it’s more like a business or organization where everyone has their own role to play. We don’t like band structures.
The album sounds like a pretty dramatic departure from Beat Pyramid. How influential was co-producer Graham Sutton in reinventing the overall aesthetic of These New Puritans?
Oh, all the music was written and conceptualized before Graham got involved. His massive input was the way it eventually sounded in terms of acoustics, especially things like the brass and woodwind.
There are a hell of a lot of different sounds and concepts on this record. What was the recording process like?
It was very different to the usual process. Instead of working things out in the studio, we had everything written and planned beforehand. It was like a military operation. We spent a week on drums, four hours doing all the ensemble brass and woodwind parts in Prague, then we went to a small London studio and got a different instrumentalist to come in each day for a week (contra-bassoon, piano, bass clarinet, etc). Then we spent a day on sound effects and Foley. I did all the beats and programming at home. And then it was pretty much finished. It was fun. It was recorded very quickly. Then we sent it to Dave Cooley in L.A. to be mixed and I lived on L.A. time to communicate with him.
Could you tell us a little bit about trying to translate the songs on Hidden into a live setting?
It’s been fun – but challenging. We’ve probably spent more time on the live show than we did in the studio recording the album! We sometimes play with a five-piece wood/brass band.
A couple years ago you described Hidden as “dancehall meets Steve Reich.” At the time it sounded like wishful thinking to many fans and critics. In retrospect, it’s almost an understatement.
I was actually describing a song that never made it to Hidden (called “Orchid” – you can hear it on YouTube). It’s probably not the best description of Hidden, but I can’t think of another one.
I read an article where you referred to Southend as the “least culturally developed” place in England. We have plenty of culturally underdeveloped haunts here in the States, too. Any chances of a U.S. tour later this year?
Yes, we’re going to come to Amer-i-ca in May or June. The details are still be ironed out.
You’ve cited the Wu Tang Clan as “massively influential,” alongside Benjamin Britten, Nigerian hip hop and even Britney Spears. Out of sheer morbid curiosity, I have to ask … Britney, really?
Yes, especially Blackout – it’s a really good album in terms of sounds and textures. It’s what I meant by anti-experimental – that album isn’t experimental but it’s got so many incredible sounds and is very interesting overall.
Is it too early to ask what we should expect from the next album?
I’m writing a lot of different sorts of music – some music for steel drums and some very simple short songs for piano and voice, for example. I’m not thinking of it in terms of an album yet though.
by Marcus David
