This review is part of a series looking back at significant albums on their anniversaries. Through the benefit of hindsight we will be viewing the album not just as it was released, but how it stands the test of time, as well as its place in the band’s discography and the genre in general.
Jade Tree – 10 Oct 2006
Not their best, but establishes a model for the future
It’s hard to believe that there was a time when the idea of Fucked Up making an extremely long and expansive double album came as a surprise, but in 2006 the band had only released a series of 7″ EPs and the occasional extended 12″. Today we know Fucked Up as a hardcore band that references pretty much any style of music that they want while creating large concept albums that contribute to an extended Fucked Up universe. More than that, they’re a band known for pursuing ambitious non-album releases that push the limits of hardcore and storytelling all at once. Further, their discography is huge and ever expanding (they’ve released or at least announced five releases in the past year and a half). But it all started somewhere, and that’s with 2006’s Hidden World – released 15 years ago today.
Hidden World isn’t Fucked Up’s best release, but it is great and it does establish the model that the band ends up using on future releases. The first track, “Crusades,” has an extended intro that broadly references classical music. Future albums The Chemistry of Common Life, David Comes To Life, and Dose Your Dreams all do the same. The artwork solidifies the format that most of the band’s artwork follows for the rest of their career – all caps title and band name in the top left and right corner with a strip of white background, and an image below (some of the 7″‘s beforehand had done the same, but they almost never deviate from this after the first album). Hidden World has a solid mix of “standard length” punk songs, and…extremely long songs. “Two Snakes” is over 7 minutes and “Vivian Girls” (which also gave us the band of the same name) clocks in at almost ten minutes. The band seems to have sort of gotten this out of their system but the recently released Year Of The Horse is 4 twenty minute tracks, so what do I know?
When Fucked Up first formed, their general idea was to write a lot of music that specifically referenced what they saw as the standard format for punk music – the 7″. A lot of Fucked Up deliberately tries to place itself in the larger context of the history of the genre. Listen to anyone from this band talk about music for more than 10 seconds and their genuine appreciation and love for hardcore and its history is abundantly clear. What always strikes me about Hidden World and the albums that follow is that same commitment to writing for the format. Hidden World is made for the LP and listening on vinyl creates 4 succinct acts that work as mini albums on their own. Although some of the tracks ended up on their own 7″s after the release of the album, Hidden World works extremely well as a cohesive experience.
For me, Fucked Up is a more interesting band once they start writing concept albums, but Hidden World isn’t a bad record by any means. It’s one that I revisit often – and their live shows have definitely proven that there’s at least a couple fan favorite songs on it. Is Hidden World where I’d recommend someone start with this band? Probably not. I think The Chemistry of Common Life or David Comes To Life are better starting points, but Hidden World definitely shouldn’t be ignored. If nothing else, it’s endlessly fascinating to see how Fucked Up developed into the band they are today.
Musician and writer – I play in Cheap City and run Dollhouse Lightning
