Black Swan Lane – “Hide in View” | Progressive Rock Central.com

Black Swan Lane returns, before the end of the year, to release their latest spectacular album Hide In View. The Atlanta, Georgia indie, alternative band, will officially release the new album on Eden Records Group and Wanderland Music Publishing / BMI, on November 2, 2021.

It is the ninth Black Swan Lane full length album, and it contains 12 tracks, that will make the end of fall and the onset of winter not only bearable, but filled with introspection, over the trials and tribulations of the last year two years, of this global pandemic.

Hide In View, was recorded over the course of more than a year. “It was mixed for five months at Wanderland Studios USA, and mastered by Donn Aaron at Mixon Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. Lead singer, guitarist and instrumentalist, Jack Richard Sobel, completed all songwriting, recording and mixing, for the first time in the band’s 15-year existence. Primarily due to the Covid epidemic and other logistical issues”.

With the Pandemic in view, this is a darker album, overall, as compared to their last album, Vita Eterna. You will still hear music reminiscent of the Chameleons, Lush and Kitchens of Distinction, but Jack Sobel’s vocals and lyrics adds profound dimensions to the music you will experience, reminiscent of the post-punk era.

“Hide in View”, opens similar to a Chameleons song, with that familiar rocking Manchester – sounding, lead electric guitar, but that is where the similarities end. I may be the only one, but I think Jack Richard Sobel’s vocals sounds more like a younger Jim Morrison, than Mark Burgess of the Chameleons. And that is a very good thing. I am a Doors fan; but like many, I feel cheated out of what could have been; had Jim limited his alcohol intake. With Jack, we get signs, and memories of how good that baritone might have sounded, if kept in good health. Black Swan Lane opens the album, with the title track, which should be a great show opener if Jack takes this music out on the road in the future…hopefully.

“Smiling with You”, is full of acoustic guitar layered over those Manchester chords and it sounds so good. Jack sings, “Supervise your state of mind”. Good advice in troubled times.

“Control”, is a bouncy song full of great drumming. Just try to sit still to this one. The rhythm is bouncy, but the lyrics are dark. Jack sings, “I am hollow. I am weak. Sounds of thunder hear me speak. My life has become a wreck”. The Pandemic has driven everyone down. We all need to let it out.

“It’s Not True”, has some of best and most optimistic lyrics on the album. Jack sings, “A precious day with you, is the moment I knew, would be coming soon. So, I could stay here a while. The light in your eyes and the dark in your room. Will make me forget. Won’t be here too soon”. A much-needed diversion from the pain of the epidemic. Great music enveloping the warmer lyrics.

“Little Bird”, opens with a brighter electric guitar, with warm acoustic guitar supporting. A brave and wonderful rhythm develops. Jack sings, “Maybe I’ll fly”. Any escape from the pain is a good idea, in dark times.

“Finally, Here”, is full of more interesting and varied electric guitar, but it is the acoustic guitar that rules the day on this track. Jack sings, “Trying to see. Don’t listen very hard. Listen to how I feel. Read all the signs. Read till I’m here”. A wonderful reflective song, full of great acoustic guitar work.

“Not About Me”, opens with brilliant electric guitar, drums and deep bass. Jack sings, “Make a wish. Take the fall. It’s not about me. It’s you after all. Where is the girl I left behind?” The guitar interaction on this track is beautiful and poetic.

“The Fear”, is full of darker lyrics. It has a more Doors-like feel to it as well. Jack sings, “I’m sneaking around. I’m dreaming to kill. Help me break the rules. Find a place to fit. Just once for a while. Love in my soul. Pain in my…(heart)”.

On “A Broken Mind”, Jack sings, “What else can you take from me? A hollow heart and a broken mind”, set to a churning electric guitar and drum rhythm.

“Asche”, is full of more wonderful acoustic and electric guitar at its opening. A wonderful instrumental. Wish there was more.

“Wish”, is a good bouncy keyboards and drum song full of great lyrics, and soft guitar. It has that bouncy, “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again”, like rhythm to it. Then, the Cure-like lyrics from “To Wish Impossible Things”. Jack sings, “How I wish I could hold you. I would never set you free. I should have told you when I could. When the world falls away. How I wish that you could stay”. Dynamite!

“Throwing Stones”, is the closer and what a great finale, it is. More awesome Manchester guitar than we deserve. Then Jack sings, “The road has ended. Careful of my wishes. I wish I never said. Will you dis-believe me?”

This is another wonderful album by Black Swan Lane. How Jack pulled all this together is a testament to his abilities. Beautiful music, set to heartfelt lyrics that capture graphically the last two years of living through a global pandemic, which has separated us from all that we love and were used to having available regularly. Hopefully, we will all appreciate the things we care for most, and cherish them well; after all this tragedy.

“Photographer, Lídia Vives, from Lleida, Spain, created the cover artwork which goes perfectly with the theme of the album. Lídia, using Cupid’s arrows, decontextualized them as the love disappointments that we accumulate behind our backs”.

Track List