A big entrance quickly falls into a hypnotic acoustic/bass/drum loop. Stretched two-syllable vocal lines take center stage: “I took / too long / to call / for some / reason.” I love that it takes 25 seconds to get through just those 10 words! Follow that up with big, rich guitar, and later, after taking too long to write for some reason, we find a wobbly, atmospheric organ joining in the background, giving the song a gentle boost while emphasizing the variety within the repetitiveness.
The guitar tones are wonderful. The acoustic is big, strong, and clear. The electric lead captures a harsh, brittle bitterness that expresses the lyrics appropriately.
An unexpected segue into a relaxing acoustic pseudo-outro gets us almost to the end, before Hiding Places punches us in the face with a coda that twists the tale on its head: “You took / too long.”
There is something hypnotic and likable about “One Hand” that makes the almost six-minute track go by rather quickly. I can imagine (and hope) that, by the way it is arranged and recorded, there are ample opportunities for Hiding Places to hit their audience with momentous buildups, stop/starts with brutal explosions, and psychedelic drifting in a live rendition. Catch Hiding Places on tour in the US and Canada between early April and the middle of May.
This single comes off the upcoming album The Secret to Good Living, coming out April 3. There’s plenty of merch attached (vinyl and CD pre-orders, hoodies, shirts) to help support Hiding Places. Take a listen to “One Hand” below.
Written by Greg Gobel
