Hidden in Plain View
Life In Dreaming

The cover of Hidden In Plain View’s debut full-length, “Life in Dreaming”, is a painting by Sheryl Pierson depicting an old-timey photograph of a boy holding a rose that acts as a balloon. The painting’s combined images perfectly represents what HIPV’s CD is all about. A collection of songs that is as diverse as the mixed media used in the painting. The album starts off with a song that seems to embody all that is HIPV..Bleed for You is a dark, somber, energetic masterpiece about a woman being raped. HIPV spare no expense and waste no imagery in this explicit depiction of a most heinous crime. But rather than use the song to titilate or reflect a misogynist viewpoint, as a lesser band might, HIPV use the chorus of the song (“If I could take your pain away / I would scream for you... I will bleed for you”) to portray an empathy that can only come from someone who knows how disgusting a crime rape is. The song gives me chills. But HIPV is no one-trick pony. The songs continue to build off of each other as the CD continues until it climaxes with the amazing, complex and brilliant Garden Statement which is followed by the only slightly less incredible The Innocent Ones. At that point the album would be worth the sticker price but it continues, each song carrying on the tradition of the one before it until HIPV slowly bring you back to reality with Halcyon Daze which finishes with Andrew McMahon’s guest piano work slowly plinking away finally leaving the listener in silence until you realize... it’s time to push play again.
     HIPV is a New Jersey band. There is no doubt that they have roots in the Garden State and a sound comprised of the many amazing bands that have come before them, but music is not a static entity. Good musicians continue to build on what was previously done and great musicians, like HIPV, forge new ground while leaving us bread crumbs of sounds that we are used to so that we can follow along.
If purchasing (what I predict will be) one of the best albums of 2005 for its superior songwriting, dueling vocals and complex arrangements isn’t enough incentive for you, buy it so that you have a reason to see HIPV’s live show which is undoubtedly one of the best around.
Review by Nathan Wrann and Kimberly Ann