Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea - Hidden Hands (Single)

Jen Cloher wants us to turn it up! This promotional teaser is the title track from her forthcoming second album and although it starts off sedately wearing music’s equivalent of a nice warm woolly sweater, it’s stripped itself down to its undies by the one-minute mark with a chug-a-lug rhythm (although their MySpace-posted version is longer), before retreating to an introspective chorus and repeating the process. Unfortunately for Cloher it might take such kind of semi-clad dancing to convince the Joe Publics to part with their economically recessed at the moment, for as fine and dandy as this is I can’t see it breaking through in a big way just yet. I really hope I’m wrong though.

Calling this a digital release sounds a bit like pulling the finger out, so let’s just say you can only buy the single online. Fans of Cloher’s past work will be most likely to click it into their basket, along with some punters interested in her Melbournian peers ala Mia Dyson, plus the lovely Laura Jean amid Cloher’s five other band mates.

Other names worth dropping here include Paul McKercher again on production duties, mixer Tony Espie and the glitzy Woodstock Studios of Melbourne where it was all recorded. It’s been a couple of years but if you can’t wait another couple of months for the new album, mosey on through to their webby net.

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