Hidden Drives
Badman, 2021
9/10
The recording moniker of Champaign, Illinois resident Henry Frayne, as Lanterna he returns with a 7th album where he focuses heavily on guitar and synthesizer and brings songs that are resurrected from decades past and finished off with his very unique formula of Americana, psychedelic and ambient texturing.
“Aix” starts the listen with plenty of atmosphere as tension and melody are manipulated with both grace and adventurousness in a post-rock sort of way, and this calculated approach continues to the warm electric guitar and playful drumming of the title track.
There’s 15 tracks here (5 of which are remixes), which may seem like a lot for an instrumental record, but the amount of diversity present gives each one its own identity. Middle tracks like the flowing beauty of “Chagrin Boulevard” and the percussively strong and thumping “Aqueduct” won’t go unnoticed, nor will the shimmering, dreamy atmosphere of the album highlight, “Nice”.
Further still, “Maine 262 (Appleton Ridge)” makes great use of acoustic guitar and charming electronica in the absorbing strummer, and “Muscle Ridge (Channel)” exits the listen amid cascading waves of soulful, glorious and highly technical song craft.
Formerly of the bands The Moon Seven Times, Lodestone Destiny and many more, Hidden Drives was actually conceived during Frayne’s cross country commuting, and it certainly could soundtrack a lengthy drive across an endless expanse, and played alongside Explosions In The Sky or Mogwai.
Travels well with: The Royal Arctic Institute- Sodium Light; El Ten Eleven- Transitions