These New Puritans Return

One of Britain's most challenging groups These New Puritans have confirmed details of their new album 'Hidden'.

Formed in Southend, These New Puritans take the repetitive groove of Krautrock and use it as a weapon. Early shows saw the band blur the edges between a gig and an art happening in a manner that recalled The Velvet Underground's primal fury.

Sparking a very localised scene in Southend, These New Puritans helped to encourage groups such as The Horrors and The xx. Releasing their debut album 'Beat Pyramid' last year, the band split critics.

With fans rallying to their cause, the album contained enough inventive material to keep even those with short attention spans happy. However many argued that These New Puritans were rather less inventive than their supporters would have us believe.

Whatever, in the live arena there are few doubts that These New Puritans are a skull crushing experience. Heading back into the studio it seems that the band have taken bone breaking activities seriously.

Keen to experiment, forthcoming album 'Hidden' contains a raft of new sounds. The band have employed six-foot Japanese Taiko drums, a thirteen piece brass and woodwind ensemble, sub-heavy beats, prepared piano, a children's choir and more.

At one point These New Puritans assembled a melon with cream crackers and struck it with a hammer - to simulate the sound of a human head being smashed.

Decidedly uneasy listening, the band's mixture of art rock with minimal grooves nonetheless keeps you entranced. These New Puritans are set to presage the release of their new album with single 'We Want War' - due for release on January 11th.

These New Puritans are set to release their new album 'Hidden' on January 18th. Tracklisting is as follows:

1. Time Xone
2. We Want War
3. Three Thousand
4. Hologram
5. Attack Music
6. Fire–Power
7. Orion
8. Canticle
9. Drum Courts–Where Corals Lie
10. White Chords
11. 5