Hidden City

*Hidden City* is vintage Cult: a murky descent into shamanic boogie and gothic psychedelia littered with captivatingly enigmatic references to mysticism and esoterica. Thirty years into the British band’s storied career and Ian Astbury’s booming baritone has only grown more shadowy. On both the stage-setting opener “Dark Energy” and the hammering “No Love Lost,” his voice looms over Billy Duffy’s mesmerizing guitar churn like a brooding tempest. Yet that ominousness then turns to beautiful despair on “Birds of Paradise,” a chilly post-punk ballad harkening back to The Cult’s earliest recordings.

The Cult have been many things over the last three decades; consistent isn't one of them.

On the Cult's tenth studio album, Hidden City, the long-running British act seem to have hit a new creative streak. Hidden City is the band'...

Ian Astbury, Billy Duffy and co present some of their strongest songs in years on an album that forges yet another new path

Album no.10 from the Ian Astbury and co. is patchy, but fun. Music review by Barney Harsent