Hidden City
,
the Cult
's tenth studio album -- and fifth with producer
Bob Rock
-- is the final installment in the "spiritual" trilogy that began with 2007's
Born into This
and continued on 2012's
Choice of Weapon
. Musically, this set touches on almost every period in the band's history. First single "Dark Energy" is an excellent choice for an opener.
Billy Duffy
's signature boogie-matic post-
Electric
riffing struts out in front of drummer
John Tempesta
's hard-swinging snare and thumping tom-tom vamp.
Ian Astbury
's baritone remains a tremendous thundering force, authoritatively delivering a lyric that warns of coming karmic consequences for exploitative and destructive behavior.
Rock
's busy, over the top production swirls around it all. "G O A T" is stronger, buoyed by an unapologetic swagger that approaches "Wildflower" territory. "Hinterland" combines the aesthetic textures found on
Sonic Temple
and
Ceremony
. The squalling guitar atmospherics and thrumming, in-the-red bassline counter the modal melody. "Deeply Ordered Chaos" manages to look back to both
Dreamtime
Love
simultaneously. But oddly,
Astbury
deliberately invokes post-
Scary Monsters
-era
David Bowie
in the bridge, even aping his phrasing and vocal timbre. The well-placed synth strings underscore that notion.
Bowie
is also the referent in the effective midtempo, multi-textural smear of "Lillies." "In Blood" harks back to
, while the gothic glam of "Dance the Night" is a nice campy touch that points in a direction
should explore further. ~ Thom Jurek