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The Birthday Massacre

Hide And Seek

Written by: TAJ on 13/01/2013 14:21:54

For those of you unfamiliar with The Birthday Massacre, they're a sextet from Canada with four successful releases in their baggage. All of those are built on the foundation of the synthwave of the eighties - a time when pop music was usually darker - molded into their own modern take. So what does The Birthday Massacre actually sound like? My best way of describing it would be: imagine yourself in your childhood waking at night with a vaguely moonlit doll shaped figure standing before you, leading you to a hidden door in the corner your bedroom, where you go through a narrow tunnel and enter a mystical gothic wonderland, illuminated only by a purple mystical light and otherwise coated in shadows. It's alluring yet scary. The reason why I describe it with a lack of technical terms is that I find The Birthday Massacre's force being the atmosphere they are able to conjure.

So what lies behind the hidden door this time? The record jumps right into "Leaving Tonight" a dreamy and catchy song which sounds like their older material, especially their album "Walking With Strangers" pops to mind. It is followed by "Down", which is by no mistake the heaviest song on "Hide And Seek", where The Birthday Massacre use their iconic switching between guitars hailing down, contrasted by a more round and light sounding synth in the verse. Listening to only these two openers I was tempted to think it would be a record like many before, but from third song of the record, it takes a different turn.

Although the majority of the lyrics delivered by singer Chibi have circled around darker themes, I have always felt it's been with a flicker in the eye making the songs alluring and thought provoking emotion-wise yet never pushing you out of your comfort zone. On "Hide And Seek" it seems this flicker has turned into a more serious tone. To match Chibi's carrying voice, the band have followed along and produced moods fitting for a new, more serious face of The Birthday Massacre. It is seen for example in "Playing With Fire", where an electronic quick beat ticks along, creating an uneasy feel accompanied by the guitar lingering in the background with a thick dark sound.

So once again without moving away from their signature sound TBM have produced another record with quality songs eager to enchant you and set your thoughts adrift to places far away. But even for a record that enthralls you for thoughtfulness, it does seem over rather quickly, almost in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately it's due to this game of “Hide and Seek” lasting only 35 minutes which is really too short for a full-length release.

Download: Leaving Tonight, Alibis, One Promise
For The Fans Of: Emilie Autumn, Ayria, Sirenia
Listen: Facebook

Release Date 09.10.2012
Metropolis Records