Single Review: Hide

Poneke Wellington indie-emo maestros Crying Club, formerly and hilariously known as The Chonus Brothers, have made waves both in Tamaki Makaurau as well as in their usual stomping grounds of the Capital. After said name change, and the release of their brilliant 2021 single Taxi Man, the quartet pressed on, and are now proud to present to the world a dark, new single for all to sing along to, headbang with, and feel appropriately glum to.

Downbeat guitar chords lead the way on Hide, before giving over to some grief-stricken vocals, in the style of early Robert Smith on a bad day. Before long, the drums and bass guitar swing into the mix, all set to a four-four beat but with an almost hip-hop rhythm.

The track’s instrumentation is brilliant. The bass guitar and drums don’t stray far from what’s required of them, providing the solid, and rhythmic foundation. The vocals and guitars are arguably the primary feature of the song. The latter of the two varies between trilling away beautifully, like in the post-choruses, to punchy, punk-rock chords in the chorus. Listen closely, and you’ll hear light arpeggios going on in the background of the choruses. Truly beautiful stuff.

At times, the vocals sound overly prominent in the mix, and dominated the rest of the instruments, perhaps most so in the verses. Having more of that driving guitar sound would have given the song more teeth and angst, which, when matched with the powerful drum-line, could become even more potent.

The observational lyrics appear to portray the depressive mood one may set into some days, when the drive to do anything at all is at zero. The deeply minor key, matched with uncomfortable descriptions of mundane trivialities and an unwillingness to move forward is perfect, even if the writing wasn’t set out to be intentionally “emo”, as genres will have it.

A sense of dreariness looms during the verses, but the energising choruses breaks through like brief glimpses of sunlight on an overcast day.

Then, as though snapping out of a daydream, the song concludes with light vocals and a single guitar chord, leaving all instruments out and sighing into a deftly abrupt ending.

This is fantastic work. Whether you’re into pop-rock, indie or emo, Hide covers a lot of bases with its relatable lyrics, moody songwriting, and fist-pumping energies.

Get some Crying Club in your ears by way of Spotify, YouTube or Bandcamp.