Following the release of their latest record Age and a string of tour dates in Canada, The Hidden Cameras will be performing at Starlight Social Club Thursday Feb. 13 with their brand of indie pop music.
“Last time we played at Starlight was probably 2006. I love that place, the crowds were great last time we were there,” recalled Joel Gibbs, front man for The Hidden Cameras.
Age is the fifth record Gibbs has recorded with The Hidden Cameras. True to its name, the album focuses on the various stages of life.
“I knew at the back of my head I was calling it a coming-of-age record. I just like the word ‘age’ because it not only refers to that, but also to the era we live in.”
Comparing the latest record to those throughout their career, Gibbs says Age is different in the approach he took to it.
“The last three records, especially the last two, were about experimenting with genre and exploring how the different instruments could blend together to make distinct sounds … We approached [the record] with a different mind set.”
Gibbs stated that the songs on the album were written as individual pieces which then began to formulate into an album that started with dealings of adolescence, up towards the “expulsion towards adulthood.” Age also sees Gibbs moving away from experimenting with acoustic guitars and tambourines, like on previous records, in favour of synthesizers.
Talking with Gibbs about his latest record, he doesn’t feel it is a conventional record.
“I wouldn’t know how to describe the new record, I think all the songs are different. To me, I’m always writing a catchy song.”
Looking at the upcoming shows, Gibbs is quite excited to actually play the songs on the new album.
“I’m excited for the upcoming tour. It’s always nice to put out a new record and to be playing the songs after working on it for so long,” he said.
But just as Gibbs believes it’s hard to describe his music, it’s just as difficult to describe what to expect from The Hidden Cameras.
“If you have something up your sleeve, you’re not going to tell. If you don’t have something up your sleeve, you’re not going to tell. We’re going to perform the songs and it will be good.”
With regard to their live shows, which in the past have featured elaborate stage set-ups and dancers, it was those early shows that really defined the band.
“Those early gigs were fairly important to us in that when we first started out, that was what defined us. It was really DIY and the shows were all site-specific and thematic. We have slowly moved away from that, but still performing live is important to us.”
The one thing that Gibbs does expect, however, is that the crowd will enjoy his music. “You work so long on the music and you hope … that people are open to it. Hopefully new people will discover it in Kitchener-Waterloo.”