Hidden Lands
Candy Claws
Hidden Lands
To me, Colorado indie rockers Candy Claws at first sound like a slightly more dreamlike version of Washed Out. They sound like they really love Portishead, the mellower side of My Bloody Valentine and, I don't know, probably bands like Fog, Bibio, Mum and Boards of Canada. So yeah, you could say that Candy Claws' sophomore album, Hidden Lands, is good. With such influences, how could it not be?
Four facts about this record and its makers - Ryan Hover and Kay Bertholf - that will either sell you on the band's aesthetic or leave you laughing/running: 1) Hover and Bertholf wrote these songs on keyboard because neither knew how to properly play keyboard (more on this later); 2) every song on Lands features a sample from every other song on the album (more on this later!); 3) like their debut, In the Dream of Sea Life, Lands is a musical companion to a book, this time it's Richard M. Ketchum's "The Secret Life of the Forest" (more on this later!!); 4) the record was self-recorded in a small bedroom (definitely more on this to come!!!) Needless to say, Candy Claws are a different kind of band. A crew of disguised kitsch artists or two new creative powers? Let's explore ...
First off, fact #4, The DIY Method. Panda Bear's Person Pitch, also self recorded in a small bedroom, comes to mind. If Candy Claws at some point reveal that they're the Panda's biggest fan, no one who has heard Lands will gasp. This record, in almost every way, feels like a cousin to Person, if not nearly as masterful and unique. Hover and Bertholf have created a fuzzy bedroom record that is just dreamlike and textured enough to score your hip, lonely nights (until that new Panda record is out, at least).
Fact #2, Sampling Your Own Songs. Awesome, I say! This is the first (and hopefully last) I've heard of this being done, and I think it's downright brilliant - once. By cutting all their songs to pieces and mixing up the elements in clever ways, Candy Claws have made a cohesive album with some serious cinematic qualities. Sometimes they flaunt their method and sometimes they mask it; both work nicely, and promise to keep the detail-loving set intrigued for longer than most albums of this kind.
Fact #3, The Musical Companion. Maybe kinda boring to us as fans, but proof of artistry for Candy Claws. To love another's work so much that you want to extend it, pay homage to it and make it your own is a sweet, inspired gesture. Sweet and inspired? That's something you don't see too often in the pretentious world of indie rock. I've not read the book, so I can't say much more about it but to assure that the influence never comes off as tedious.
Fact #1, Keyboard Experiments. Hmm. This method is the key to why Hidden Lands sounds the way it does. Any musician who teaches themselves a new instrument based on what they know from playing other instruments should dig this idea. Taking what they knew from their guitar-filled backgrounds, Hover and Bertholf experimented long and hard to build these songs, relying, in their words, "only on what sounded right, rather than rely on techniques." The result is a batch of soundly composed songs full of chords and melodies that often sound a bit off. The vibe is that of a symphony of accidental sound, which, against the odds, works well.
In summation, Candy Claws is an ideas band. That they're able to mix so many approaches and foci into one whole is impressive, and promises better things to come. That this record often feels like a fan letter to Panda Bear is a bummer that will have some questioning Candy Claws' authenticity. Still, this is the interesting and endlessly creative fall night soundtrack you've been looking for, made perfect for trippy daydreams. Sometimes is sounds like an Asian film score from the 80s, other times it sounds like an unfinished Atlas Sound demo … yet somehow it always sounds like the same eerie space-out soundtrack. There's brilliance in the cohesion and experimental nature of the aptly titled Hidden Lands. 7.5/10
Written by G. William Locke