Hidden City (album)

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Hidden City
Studio album by
The Cult
Released5 February 2016
Recorded2014–2015
Genre
Length52:26
LabelCooking Vinyl, Dine Alone
ProducerBob Rock
The Cult chronology
Choice of Weapon
(2012) 		Hidden City
(2016) 		Under the Midnight Sun
(2022)
Singles from Hidden City
  1. "Dark Energy"
    Released: 6 November 2015
  2. "Hinterland"
    Released: 12 January 2016

Hidden City is the tenth studio album by the British rock band The Cult, released on 5 February 2016 through Cooking Vinyl and Dine Alone Records.[2] It is the final part of a trilogy that began with Born into This (2007),[3] and The Cult's first album since their 1994 self-titled album not to feature bassist Chris Wyse; the role was filled by producer Bob Rock and Chris Chaney (Jane's Addiction). It also marks the fifth time Rock had produced a Cult album.[2]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Classic Rock8/10[6]
Drowned in Sound7/10[7]
Exclaim!7/10 [8]
The Guardian[9]
The Irish Times[10]
laut.de[11]
The National[12]
Record Collector[13]
The Spill Magazine[14]

Hidden City has received generally mixed to positive reviews from critics. AllMusic writer Thom Jurek gave the album three out of five stars, saying that it "touches on almost every period in their history." He continued his review, stating that "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 typically messy lyric swamp of Tibetan Buddhist mysticism and Native American spirituality that warns of coming karmic consequences for exploitative and destructive behavior. Rock's wildly busy, over the top production swirls around it all."[5] Dom Gourlay writing for Drowned in Sound stated, "despite being active on and off for the best part of 33 years, their creative flame still burns brightly if tenth studio album Hidden City is anything to go by... More importantly, Hidden City slides succinctly into the upper echelons of the band's impressive canon, and that is no mean feat."[7] Exclaim!'s Jibril Yassin wrote, "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's third album in recent years, and it's chock full of call-backs to various points in their career..."[8]

Lauren Murphy in her review of The Irish Times commented, "Atmosphere comes at the expense of innovation, but Hidden City is certainly a listenable collection, if perhaps only one for established fans who already know exactly what to expect."[10] A reviewer of The National commented, "The Cult have had their ups and downs through their 30-year career. Hidden City shows the band climbing new heights."[12] A reviewer of The Press wrote, "The Cult's tenth studio album finds them delivering a powerful mix of the brutal and the beautiful, the spiritual and the reflective."[15] Dave Simpson writing for The Guardian mentioned, "The reinventions aren’t as dramatic now, but they’re still not standing still. Their 10th album darts from brooding postpunk to old-fashioned heavy metal and back again. At the heart is still the curious chemistry between gruff-toned, cosmically inclined singer Ian Astbury and his polar opposite, down-to-earth Mancunian guitarist Billy Duffy, the Cult’s own human riff."[9]

Accolades[edit]

Publication Accolade Year Rank
Mojo The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
15[16]

Track listing[edit]

  1. "Dark Energy" - 4:28
  2. "No Love Lost" - 3:13
  3. "Dance the Night" - 4:15
  4. "In Blood" - 4:48
  5. "Birds of Paradise" - 6:26
  6. "Hinterland" - 5:06
  7. "G O A T" - 3:18
  8. "Deeply Ordered Chaos" - 4:32
  9. "Avalanche of Light" - 4:31
  10. "Lilies" - 4:16
  11. "Heathens" - 3:39
  12. "Sound and Fury" - 3:54

Music videos[edit]

  1. "G O A T" - Dir: Juan Azulay
  2. "Hinterland" - Dir: Juan Azulay
  3. "Deeply Ordered Chaos" - Dir: Juan Azulay
  4. "Dark Energy" - Dir: Juan Azulay

Personnel[edit]

The Cult
Additional personnel
  • Chris Chaney - bass
  • Bob Rock - bass on "Dance the Night", "Birds of Paradise" and "Deeply Ordered Chaos", and additional guitars
  • Jamie Muhoberac - piano, keyboards
  • Dan Chase - additional drums on "Sound and Fury"
Technical

Note[edit]

Just prior to this album's release, Damon Fox (keyboards) and Grant Fitzpatrick (bassist) were made full-time members of the band. However, they made no contributions to this album.

Charts[edit]

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 42
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 69
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 83
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 71
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 36
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 143
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 51
Italian Albums (FIMI)[24] 66
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[25] 41
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[26] 41
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 50
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 19
US Billboard 200[29] 153

References[edit]

  1. ^ Zukowski, Zenae (12 February 2016). "The Cult – Hidden City (Album Review)". Cryptic Rock. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b "The Cult To Release 'Hidden City' Album In February; Hear First Single 'Dark Energy'". Blabbermouth.net. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  3. ^ Renshaw, David (6 November 2015). "The Cult announce new album 'Hidden City' – hear single 'Dark Energy' now". NME. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  4. ^ "Hidden City by The Cult". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b Jurek, Thom (5 February 2016). "Hidden City - The Cult". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  6. ^ Funk, Ewald (5 February 2016). "Review: The Cult - HIDDEN CITY". Classic Rock (in German). Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  7. ^ a b Gourlay, Dom (8 February 2016). "Album Review: The Cult - Hidden City". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  8. ^ a b Yassin, Jibril (5 February 2016). "The Cult Hidden City". Exclaim!. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  9. ^ a b Simpson, Dave (5 February 2016). "Hidden City - The Cult". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  10. ^ a b Murphy, Lauren (4 February 2016). "The Cult - Hidden City: only for established fans who already know exactly what to expect". The Irish Times. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  11. ^ Kubanke, Ulf. "Traurige Selbstdegradierung zur Kloppertruppe" (in German). laut.de. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Album review: The Cult deftly climbs new heights on Hidden City". The National. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  13. ^ McIver, Joel. "Hidden City - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  14. ^ Li, Patrick (5 February 2016). "SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE CULT - HIDDEN CITY". The Spill Magazine. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  15. ^ "CD review: The Cult, Hidden City (Cooking Vinyl) ****". York Press. February 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  16. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2016". Mojo. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  17. ^ "Australiancharts.com – The Cult – Hidden City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  18. ^ "Austriancharts.at – The Cult – Hidden City" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Cult – Hidden City" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Cult – Hidden City" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  21. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Cult – Hidden City" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  22. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Cult – Hidden City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  23. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  24. ^ "Italiancharts.com – The Cult – Hidden City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  25. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – The Cult – Hidden City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – The Cult – Hidden City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – The Cult – Hidden City". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  29. ^ "The Cult Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
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