Hideout

AlbumSep 11 / 200713 songs, 49m 19s
Shoegaze Noise Pop
Noteable

The second album for San Francisco’s Film School continues the group’s continental drift towards atmospheric European pop alongside their name-inferring cinematic ambitions. The group previously scored the soundtrack for comedian Demetri Martin’s internet shorts *Clearification*, but *Hideout* brings them back to center on the songs of Film School singer Greg Bertens. Guitars and keyboards solidify into thick sonic walls that recall the dramatic gothic dreamscapes of early to mid-‘80s Cure and Sisters of Mercy (“Compare”) and much of the weightless shoegazer pop (Ride) of the early ‘90s. Reverb and synthesizers are never in short supply. Eerie hooks peek out from under the drones (“Florida”). There’s a melancholy pop undertow haunting much of the material (“Two Kinds,” “Plots and Plans”) that enables the entire album to flow like a hazy story only half-remembered, while a restless garage rock rhythm permeates much of what remains (“What I Meant To Say).” Guest female vocalists add coloring and several tight edits between tracks make for jarring listening.

6.2 / 10

With an almost charming defiance, Bay Area foursome Film School are long on whooshy, gliding guitar lines and Kevin Shields impersonations.

C

Sometimes the road just isn't all that fun, especially for an introvert like Film School's Greg Bertens, whose tour adventures last year included being attacked outside a club and having his band's equipment stolen from a hotel parking lot. After returning to the comfort of his L.A. apartment to write a new record and…

7 / 10

Film School’s follow-up to last year’s self-titled effort successfully busts out of the confines of the shoegaze genre. Awash in rich vocals and punctuated rhythms, Hideout sounds nothing like its cocooned namesake. In fact, Film School’s latest effort…

Album Reviews: Film School - Hide Out