Hidden Pictures

This big, bright record is packed with fun, hand-clappy, powerpop that had me dancing from the first note. I’m really digging the sound of lead Richard Gintowt’s voice, and even though I’m not sure what the hell an electric ukeaxe is, Claire Adams appears to rock it while backing Richard up with some background vox.

Some of the tunes remind me of Mike Viola—sporting that same, easy-to-identify with sound and lyric mix with just a bit more power. I’m definitely a fan, and need to pick up their previous two albums to make sure I’m not missing anything awesome. - Three Imaginary Girls

This big, bright record is packed with fun, hand-clappy, powerpop that had me dancing from the first note. I’m really digging the sound of lead Richard Gintowt’s voice, and even though I’m not sure what the hell an electric ukeaxe is, Claire Adams appears to rock it while backing Richard up with some background vox.

Some of the tunes remind me of Mike Viola—sporting that same, easy-to-identify with sound and lyric mix with just a bit more power. I’m definitely a fan, and need to pick up their previous two albums to make sure I’m not missing anything awesome. - Three Imaginary Girls

Cheeky power-pop oriented quintet gets things rolling with the infectious and lyrically smart “Calling Christine” for an instant jolt of caffeinated sugar. There’s a hint of the Kennedies in Richard Gintowt’s and Michelle Sanders’ harmonies on “Solo Record Shop.” Smart melodies abound on “Boyfriend A.D.D.,” which sounds a little Carsish with some Squeeze, and “Ricky” with its Fairport/Small Faces-like ballad. Hidden Pictures evoke all sorts of our favorite bands while maintaining their own style. Three and a half stars. - Pop Geek Heaven

This album came to my attention via Futureman Records, which has been releasing classic power pop records digitally, and they put this album up as a preview. It was a great move because it fits right in with all those classic records, yet has an appeal to today’s audiences. It uses the power pop mold, but run through a more modern indie rock filter. Making for an engaging and fun listening experience. After seeing the other records this band released previously, I see they’ve been doing this for years, but I think maybe this one tops them all. - Pop Underground

This album came to my attention via Futureman Records, which has been releasing classic power pop records digitally, and they put this album up as a preview. It was a great move because it fits right in with all those classic records, yet has an appeal to today’s audiences. It uses the power pop mold, but run through a more modern indie rock filter. Making for an engaging and fun listening experience. After seeing the other records this band released previously, I see they’ve been doing this for years, but I think maybe this one tops them all. - Pop Underground

It's 85 degrees outside, and I feel like just laying in the sun and listening to music. This is the time of year when upbeat, beachy music is exactly what many people are looking for. Hidden Pictures' new album Synchronized Sleeping is perfect for those situations. Compared to She & Him due to the shared male and female vocal harmonies, the record simply sounds like summer. The guitars have a surf rock sound to them, and the heavily used glockenspiel adds a positive touch to the record. But Synchronized Sleeping is more than just a simple summer rock album, as song writer, producer, vocalist, and guitarist Richard Gintowt heavily orchestrates many of the tracks, including segments of saxophone, cello, viola, and trombone. At the core of it all, Hidden Pictures is a pop band, constructing sweet hooks to go in front of the tan inducing instrumentation. Get your swim suit on, apply sunscreen (important!), and listen to Synchronized Sleeping through your headphones. Summer is going to be great. You can stream the entire album (on purchase Tuesday, May 31st) on the band's Bandcamp page here. - Muzik Dizcovery

It's 85 degrees outside, and I feel like just laying in the sun and listening to music. This is the time of year when upbeat, beachy music is exactly what many people are looking for. Hidden Pictures' new album Synchronized Sleeping is perfect for those situations. Compared to She & Him due to the shared male and female vocal harmonies, the record simply sounds like summer. The guitars have a surf rock sound to them, and the heavily used glockenspiel adds a positive touch to the record. But Synchronized Sleeping is more than just a simple summer rock album, as song writer, producer, vocalist, and guitarist Richard Gintowt heavily orchestrates many of the tracks, including segments of saxophone, cello, viola, and trombone. At the core of it all, Hidden Pictures is a pop band, constructing sweet hooks to go in front of the tan inducing instrumentation. Get your swim suit on, apply sunscreen (important!), and listen to Synchronized Sleeping through your headphones. Summer is going to be great. You can stream the entire album (on purchase Tuesday, May 31st) on the band's Bandcamp page here. - Muzik Dizcovery

I was walking in the summer heat under shady old trees in a strange but friendly neighborhood in my city and listening to the lovely, well-crafted music of Hidden Pictures when a novel thought struck me: “Hey, I’d actually pay money for this.”

So there’s a testimonial for ya. But before you demure away from the sales pitch, here is an offer you can refuse (but we hope you don’t), two delightful songs from Kansas City’s Hidden Pictures, gratis.

The band is currently a quintet centered around guitarist Richard Gintowt and flautist/glockenspielist (or is that “glockenspieler”?) Michelle Sanders. They recorded first as an acoustic duo, but as a full band they’ve truly come into their own. The band’s debut album Synchronized Sleeping absolutely sparkles with charm.

“Working On A Way Out” opens strongly with a hook of duel acoustic guitar and glockenspiel, then picks up a string section and some nifty electric guitar before building beautifully into the climax. “She Fights Back” is an engaging little character portrait, and has one of the best bridges I’ve heard in a while.

I could easily see this band doing quite well in the UK. Gintowt’s voice instantly reminds me of Neil Finn, and the boy/girl harmonies of the band recall both Beautiful South and the Magic Numbers. Have a listen, sing along. . . . - The Dadadada

Man, these guys just keep getting better. Hidden Pictures' Synchronized Sleeping is an album to love. It's blisteringly honest in unexpected places, and songwriter Richard Gintowt's lyrics have the harsh, incisive cut of Ben Gibbard, without the sentimental sap. Hidden Pictures' warm and fuzzy melodies go down like spoonfuls of sticky brown sugar, but Gintowt's songs are about sacrifice: working through the tough spots in long relationships, putting on a happy face, weighing the good against the bad. They're also slyly cynical. Here's modern romance, encapsulated on "Pretty Good Thing": Consider my faith renewed/And gone are my frozen foods/So I can make room for you. Is there a sweeter sentiment? - The Pitch

Man, these guys just keep getting better. Hidden Pictures' Synchronized Sleeping is an album to love. It's blisteringly honest in unexpected places, and songwriter Richard Gintowt's lyrics have the harsh, incisive cut of Ben Gibbard, without the sentimental sap. Hidden Pictures' warm and fuzzy melodies go down like spoonfuls of sticky brown sugar, but Gintowt's songs are about sacrifice: working through the tough spots in long relationships, putting on a happy face, weighing the good against the bad. They're also slyly cynical. Here's modern romance, encapsulated on "Pretty Good Thing": Consider my faith renewed/And gone are my frozen foods/So I can make room for you. Is there a sweeter sentiment? - The Pitch

These days it takes more than just good songs to progress in the music industry. This feature offers a short interview with the winner of 'Cloudcorner' - a feature that shortlists our favourite songs submitted via Soundcloud. 'Lessons from Cloudcorner' offers to do just as it says: offering unique advice and insight from an unsigned band. These days it's too easy to get hung up over the latest genres; if you can name a genre they'll be a 'nu' version. Luckily bands like Hidden Pictures exist to remind us that there's nothing wrong with well-crafted, catchy Indie-Pop. Their songs are a testament to the appeal of good songwriting and simple arrangements. They also have one of the best videos I've seen for a long while!

Tell us a little about yourselves and your influences? Hidden Pictures formed about four years ago when Michelle and I met. Her primary instrument was the decidedly-worthless-in-a-rock-band flute (and no, Jethro Tull didn't change that), so I gave her this glockenspiel that I inherited from my high school marching band. We put together a band and four years later we finished a record. If not for our addiction to Indian food and episodes of "Parks and Rec," we might have finished it a lot sooner. We're inspired by bands like Nada Surf, Wilco, Apples in Stereo, the Long Winters, Field Music, Midlake, Marching Band, Mobius Band, the Belle Brigade, the Shins, Throw Me the Statue, and a bajillion others. But we like to tell people we're mostly influenced by Matthew Wilder’s "Break My Stride." What's the best and worst part of being in a band? The best part is making music simply for the joy of doing it. There's nothing more exalting than writing a great song and hearing it come to fruition. The worst part is feeling obliged to maintain a profile on MySpace. What advice would you offer a band starting out? Definitely enter as many competitions as possible. Don't even worry about the music - just buy a computer or some kind of device that will make music for you. Shop at Hot Topic, try to maintain an aloof attitude, and barrage all your friends with requests to vote for you in competitions where you can get a song placed in MTV's "Teen Mom" or something like that. That should do it. How do you feel the current music climate can either hinder or help up and coming bands? If by "current music climate" you mean the popularity of Ke$ha and Glee Cast recordings, we would say "hinder." We have a rule that for every Hidden Pictures song you illegally download, you have to listen to Ke$ha’s “We R Who We R” three times. If you’re willing to take that kind of punishment, have at it. Where would you like to see Hidden Pictures in a year? The usual stuff: playing cool shows, selling some records, being exalted as the poster children of the current indie-pop zeitgeist. Another goal is to open for Wilco... but we'd settle for Ke$ha. - The 405

These days it takes more than just good songs to progress in the music industry. This feature offers a short interview with the winner of 'Cloudcorner' - a feature that shortlists our favourite songs submitted via Soundcloud. 'Lessons from Cloudcorner' offers to do just as it says: offering unique advice and insight from an unsigned band. These days it's too easy to get hung up over the latest genres; if you can name a genre they'll be a 'nu' version. Luckily bands like Hidden Pictures exist to remind us that there's nothing wrong with well-crafted, catchy Indie-Pop. Their songs are a testament to the appeal of good songwriting and simple arrangements. They also have one of the best videos I've seen for a long while!

Tell us a little about yourselves and your influences? Hidden Pictures formed about four years ago when Michelle and I met. Her primary instrument was the decidedly-worthless-in-a-rock-band flute (and no, Jethro Tull didn't change that), so I gave her this glockenspiel that I inherited from my high school marching band. We put together a band and four years later we finished a record. If not for our addiction to Indian food and episodes of "Parks and Rec," we might have finished it a lot sooner. We're inspired by bands like Nada Surf, Wilco, Apples in Stereo, the Long Winters, Field Music, Midlake, Marching Band, Mobius Band, the Belle Brigade, the Shins, Throw Me the Statue, and a bajillion others. But we like to tell people we're mostly influenced by Matthew Wilder’s "Break My Stride." What's the best and worst part of being in a band? The best part is making music simply for the joy of doing it. There's nothing more exalting than writing a great song and hearing it come to fruition. The worst part is feeling obliged to maintain a profile on MySpace. What advice would you offer a band starting out? Definitely enter as many competitions as possible. Don't even worry about the music - just buy a computer or some kind of device that will make music for you. Shop at Hot Topic, try to maintain an aloof attitude, and barrage all your friends with requests to vote for you in competitions where you can get a song placed in MTV's "Teen Mom" or something like that. That should do it. How do you feel the current music climate can either hinder or help up and coming bands? If by "current music climate" you mean the popularity of Ke$ha and Glee Cast recordings, we would say "hinder." We have a rule that for every Hidden Pictures song you illegally download, you have to listen to Ke$ha’s “We R Who We R” three times. If you’re willing to take that kind of punishment, have at it. Where would you like to see Hidden Pictures in a year? The usual stuff: playing cool shows, selling some records, being exalted as the poster children of the current indie-pop zeitgeist. Another goal is to open for Wilco... but we'd settle for Ke$ha. - The 405

It’s no secret that the group Hidden Pictures is one of the area’s foremost practitioners of near-perfect pop. Fans of the local band should be pleased that, following two EPs last year, they’ve returned with a much-awaited full-length, “Synchronized Sleeping.” Of the 12 tracks here, several have been released previously.

Fortunately, that’s about the biggest gripe that can made about “Synchronized Sleeping.” While four songs here were featured on the band’s last two releases, “Choosing Sides” and “Whitney Houston EP,” they remain fresh and fun enough to be reminded of them. Given the onset of spring and lovely weather, those songs — especially “Pretty Good Thing” — feel timely. Fans of the band may also recognize the closing “Alexander Bell,” fleshed out more here than on the band’s 2008 self-titled debut.

The new songs on “Synchronized Sleeping” further the band’s growing catalog of almost-too-good relationship rock. Hidden Pictures holds its own against bands like Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Silver Jews or Clem Snide. The new material fits nicely between the breezier pop of the “Choosing Sides” EP and the more fuzzed-up, more rock sound of “Whitney Houston EP.”

Several of the new songs venture into darker lyrical territory, even while keeping an upbeat momentum. The particularly unsettling “She Fights Back” details a relationship that seems unhealthy. And discussion of bad behavior comes up elsewhere, such as in the opening “It’s My Fantasy (It’s Not Your Fantasy).” “Alexander Bell” ends with several refrains of “I don’t wanna be friends,” which feels removed from the bright, boy-has-a-crush-on-a-librarian story of “Anne Apparently.”

To some degree, when the band ventures into less pleasant lyrical territory, it balances well with the sweetness of some of the other songs. Even when Richard Gintowt sings about puking in pay toilets in “Genevieve,” the lyric precedes an endearing hook that’s hard to shake, even after repeated listens.

With “Synchronized Sleeping,” Hidden Pictures once again delivers a batch of songs that are almost impossible to dislike. Which songs stand out will depend most on the listener, but it’s no stretch to imagine many of the tracks here becoming favorites. This is a brilliant record that listeners are sure to enjoy.

Read more: http://inkkc.com/content/cd-review-synchronized-sleeping/#ixzz1SCNHhgTc
- Kansas City Star

It’s no secret that the group Hidden Pictures is one of the area’s foremost practitioners of near-perfect pop. Fans of the local band should be pleased that, following two EPs last year, they’ve returned with a much-awaited full-length, “Synchronized Sleeping.” Of the 12 tracks here, several have been released previously.

Fortunately, that’s about the biggest gripe that can made about “Synchronized Sleeping.” While four songs here were featured on the band’s last two releases, “Choosing Sides” and “Whitney Houston EP,” they remain fresh and fun enough to be reminded of them. Given the onset of spring and lovely weather, those songs — especially “Pretty Good Thing” — feel timely. Fans of the band may also recognize the closing “Alexander Bell,” fleshed out more here than on the band’s 2008 self-titled debut.

The new songs on “Synchronized Sleeping” further the band’s growing catalog of almost-too-good relationship rock. Hidden Pictures holds its own against bands like Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Silver Jews or Clem Snide. The new material fits nicely between the breezier pop of the “Choosing Sides” EP and the more fuzzed-up, more rock sound of “Whitney Houston EP.”

Several of the new songs venture into darker lyrical territory, even while keeping an upbeat momentum. The particularly unsettling “She Fights Back” details a relationship that seems unhealthy. And discussion of bad behavior comes up elsewhere, such as in the opening “It’s My Fantasy (It’s Not Your Fantasy).” “Alexander Bell” ends with several refrains of “I don’t wanna be friends,” which feels removed from the bright, boy-has-a-crush-on-a-librarian story of “Anne Apparently.”

To some degree, when the band ventures into less pleasant lyrical territory, it balances well with the sweetness of some of the other songs. Even when Richard Gintowt sings about puking in pay toilets in “Genevieve,” the lyric precedes an endearing hook that’s hard to shake, even after repeated listens.

With “Synchronized Sleeping,” Hidden Pictures once again delivers a batch of songs that are almost impossible to dislike. Which songs stand out will depend most on the listener, but it’s no stretch to imagine many of the tracks here becoming favorites. This is a brilliant record that listeners are sure to enjoy.

Read more: http://inkkc.com/content/cd-review-synchronized-sleeping/#ixzz1SCNHhgTc
- Kansas City Star