Blue Divers - Hiddenness Songs CD

I was convinced this was going to be a special one within the first minute or two. A tranquil but compelling instrument “rock” ditty, vibrantly detailed but humming with atmosphere, warm bottoms and crisp tops, not high nor low-fidelity. Yep, our Illawarra favs Blue Divers are back four years on from ‘II’, with ‘Hiddenness Songs’, a compact disc that certainly feels like Blue Divers, even if the mode-of-operation has changed from slightly sprawling to stripped back. Guitar, bass and drums, recorded in a very live-in-a-room manner, conjuring a similar feeling to Love Chants, the airier side of PSF associated Japanese psych, Primitive Motion, Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Then Play On’ and Chris Brokaw’s End Of The Night (which we recently featured, check it out!).  

A side note: On numerous occasions I’ve recommended Blue Divers to people looking to buy a gift for someone who's already exhausted the discographies of Mick Turner, Jim White, post-rock-ish instrumental stuff on Constellation Records, or the Drag City universe and the feedback is always that I was spot on. It’s time y’all grumpy uncs all got on board the Blue Divers train choooo chooo!  – Nic

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01: If I Have Lost My Knowledge
AKA Si Ay Perdut Mon Saber, composed by Ponç d'Ortafà (active c. 1170–1246). Learnt from a recording by Jordi Savall from the 1990s. If I Have Lost My Knowledge / If I Have Lost My Mind? We made a minimalist power trio arrangement, extended it and communed with ghosts.

02: Muss Blues II
Old music we used to play in Hot Palms c. 2012-15.

03: Ghost
Some newer music, played around here and there.

04: Solstice
This one I wrote for Dusty Anastassiou to write words for, which did happen. A demo of the vocal version exists, and we played it live a couple times in the band Loaded and True.

05: Splish Splash In The Creek
This music was originally written for a show with Loaded and True. I try to write new stuff each time that band plays. We played it a couple times, then I thought it better fitted my other band Blue Riders, and we recorded it for a Blue Riders album that remains unfinished.

It’s been four years since I’ve released any new music, but I have been active in writing, collaborating and recording, it’s just nothing got finished and released. To hopefully lift the curse, we had to take these old and new musical ideas from projects near and far, and try to do them justice in our refined power trio arrangements. We played a couple shows like this - drums, bass and guitar - and this EP basically documents what we sounded like live. There are very few recordings of the live band in existence, and we have had many different versions - instrumental, with singing, large ensembles and small. Because we barely play outside our home town, all these ideas and new music goes unheard by anyone that isn’t part of the handful of people who come to our gigs. It is a bit hiddenness. This is a glimpse into one version of the band, documented for anyone to hear. I hope this EP breaks the dry spell, and we see all this other music come out of hiding soon. –Alex Marshall (Blue Divers)