2016 A.D. is only in its infancy, but its musical landscape has already been configured and mapped out. The end of term reports and best of lists will be predictably overshadowed and cloaked by the death and final artistic instalment from the icon that was David Jones. The entire rock and roll world has been adumbrated with the release of Blackstar (QRO review) and the loss of its architect, perhaps only surpassed in recent times by the passing of Elvis Presley (with whom Jones shares a birthday, January 8th, also the release date of Blackstar). The release of The Cult’s tenth album Hidden City arrives into this dystopian landscape continuing the three decades old sacramental coupling of native American mysticism, mirroring the original musical shaman Jim Morrison with raw nebulous rock and roll, and is probably the one new release that could still shine forth against the black hole formed by the collapse of the Blackstar that was Bowie. In a recent interview entitled, “Is There Life After Bowie?” Ian Astbury had discussed the “sentinel” that carried the “spirit of Nietzsche” who The Cult had supported in Paris on his ‘Glass Spider’ tour in 1987 and the indelible mark that it had left on the 24-year-old singer.
Whereas most rock groups evolve from a simplistic three chord thrash into something more coherent and sophisticated, partly due to an increased musical proficiency and a confrontation with the malaise known as life, The Cult have taken an inverse trajectory that has seen them condense and simplify their art in pursuit of their true spiritual panacea.
Recorded in various studios in Los Angeles with Bob Rock on production duties, Hidden City offers no surprises musically, but both vocally and lyrically new ground is not so much broken as ransacked in search of the bedrock on which to build the foundations of a more soulful and an even more politically aware band. Astbury’s vocals have deepened with age and on certain tracks especially the bluesy duo of “In Blood” and “GOAT”, he is reminiscent of Mark Lanegan at his gravelly best, but still retains the sonic range, as on “Hinterland” where we are all implored to “destroy the destroyers”. The album’s centrepiece is “Deeply Ordered Chaos”, which discusses the tragic events that occurred in Paris last year with a backdrop of bludgeoning guitars driving home the narrative.
Hidden City on first examination is a stereotypical Cult album, but with a little perseverance opens up to reveal a band still in its ascendancy whilst still working within the constraints of the four-piece rock band. Lyrically they are more astute and aware, which combined with a musicianship that is predictably taut and enduring certainly bodes well for the band’s continuing evolution that may yet produce a legacy as stylish and eternal as the late great Mr Jones.
