music.wikisort.org - Composition

Hide Nothing is the third studio album by the Pompano Beach, Florida rock band Further Seems Forever, released in 2004 by Tooth & Nail Records. It was the band's only studio album with vocalist Jon Bunch, formerly of Sense Field, who had replaced Jason Gleason when the latter left the band due to interpersonal tensions. A music video was filmed for the song "Light Up Ahead."

Hide Nothing
Studio album by Further Seems Forever
Released	August 24, 2004
Recorded	December 2003 (2003-12) – April 2004 (2004-04)
Studio	Wisner Productions, Davie, Florida Wisner Productions, St. Cloud, Florida Landmark Productions & Recording Studios, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Genre	Christian rock, indie rock, emo
Length	29:54
Label	Tooth & Nail
Producer	James Paul Wisner
Further Seems Forever chronology
How to Start a Fire (2003) Hide Nothing (2004) Hope This Finds You Well (2006)

Background

Further Seems Forever recorded the music to their third album with James Paul Wisner from December 2003 to January 2004.[1][2] The drums were tracked at Landmark Productions & Recording Studios in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while the guitars and bass guitar tracks were recorded at Wisner's home studio, Wisner Productions in Davie, Florida.[1][3] Vocalist Gleason got as far as recording vocals for one song,[4] before leaving the band in mid-January 2004.[5] Gleason cited that the band "spent too much time" together "packed in a box".[6] Though he initially agreed to finish working on the album, he backed out, leaving the group to complete it amidst financial pressure from Tooth & Nail Records.[7] Drummer Steve Kleisath said the manner in which Gleason "went about things was horrible and it affected a lot more people than just us, as far as the bad timing of it."[8]

Despite an announcement that Further Seems Forever planned to break up,[9] the band revealed that Sense Field frontman Jon Bunch had joined as their new vocalist in mid-February 2004.[10] The band had to wait to finish recording the vocals and mix the album until Wisner could free up his schedule.[1] In addition to relocating his studio from Davie, Florida to St. Cloud, Florida in early February 2004, Wisner was also busy recording Underoath's album They're Only Chasing Safety in February 2004, followed by Mourning September's album A Man Can Change His Stars in March 2004.[1] Bunch finally recorded his vocals at Wisner Productions in St. Cloud, Florida in April 2004, and the album was mixed later that month.[1][11][12]

Composition

Musically, the sound of Hide Nothing has been described as emo with elements of progressive metal and pop.[13] Kleisath said it combined elements from the group's first two albums The Moon Is Down (2001) and How to Start a Fire. He said Bunch's lyrics were "a lot less metaphorical and more up front".[4] The opening track "Light Up Ahead" tackles the theme of spiritual salvation.[13] The closing track "For All We Know" is an acoustic-and-piano track with a string section.[14]

Release

Further Seems Forever played their first show with Bunch in early May 2004; the band tried to have Gleason for a tour with their Tooth and Nail labelmates, until negotiations fell through.[11][15] Later in the month, Bunch played some shows in Japan with Sense Field.[16] On June 17, Hide Nothing was announced for release in two months' time. In addition, "Light Up Ahead" was posted online.[17] "Like Someone You Know" was posted on the band's PureVolume page on July 16, 2004, followed by the title-track three days later.[18][19] In early August 2004, leading up to the album's August 24 release, several more songs were made available through the band's website.[20] Between August and October 2004, they went on a cross-country US trek, with Brandtson, the Kicks, Salem and Moments in Grace.[18][21] They closed out the year touring with Sparta, Copeland and Sunshine.[22]

In February 2005, the band embarked on a US tour with the Starting Line, Days Away and JamisonParker, which lasted for six weeks.[23] They performed at The Bamboozle festival in May with original vocalist Chris Carrabba,[24] before embarking on a UK tour the following month.[25] In August, the group embarked on an North American tour with Number One Gun and Project 86.[26] On November 26, 2005, the band announced they would go on a hiatus; by early January 2006, the situation shifted to a disbandment.[27][28] A planned farewell show in Canada was cancelled when Further Seems Forever became banned from the country as the result of an improperly filled out form.[29] Five of the album's tracks – the title-track, "Light Up Ahead", "Like Someone You Know", "Bleed" and "For All We Know", as well as the acoustic version of "Light Up Ahead" – later appeared on the group's compilation album Hope This Finds You Well (2006).[14]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	Favorable[13]
Cross Rhythms	[30]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[31]
Melodic	[32]

Christian Broadcasting Network included the album as an honorable mention on their best albums of 2004 list.[33] Jesus Freak Hideout ranked it at number 81 on their list of the top 100 Tooth & Nail releases.[34]

Jesus Freak Hideout staff member Josh Taylor said Bunch's vocals were "much more melodic and ambient" than Gleason's or Carrabba's, though not as emotional as the latter, "but the power is there."[31] Most of the time, it was a "mellow, yet sonic" release, with the tracks "pick[ing] up on occasion."[31] Cross Rhythms writer Haydon Spenceley said the group "have struck gold" with the inclusion of Bunch: "This boy can SING."[30] The group offered their "most immediate material to date", which could "see Further Seems Forever cementing their place at the centre of the underground rock scene."[30]

With the album, AllMusic said the band furthered their developing brand of "appealing ... melodic emo-core", coming across as "a more finely tuned sense of songcraft" than How to Start a Fire.[13] The resultant mixture of confessional singer-songwriter elements, aggressive guitar work and harmonies "should appeal to both the hardcore set and lovers of emo-tinged indie rock."[13] Kaj Roth of Melodic said the record showed the band "has new fuel for their engines and feels more rocking and vital than before."[32] He noted its short length, where "only 2 songs are longer than 3 minutes", was one of its strengths, "so you get to know all the songs much faster than the average rock album."[32]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Jon Bunch; all music written by Josh Colbert, Chad Neptune, Steve Kleisath and Derick Cordoba.

1. "Light Up Ahead" – 3:08
2. "Hide Nothing" – 2:56
3. "Already Gone" – 3:52
4. "Like Someone You Know" – 3:16
5. "Make it a Part" – 2:41
6. "All Rise" – 2:49
7. "Call on the Life" – 2:52
8. "Lead the Way" – 2:32
9. "Bleed" – 2:57
10. "For All We Know" – 5:21
11. "Bleed" (acoustic)* – 3:23
12. "Light Up Ahead" (acoustic)* – 3:02
13. "Make it a Part/All Rise" (acoustic)* – 4:25

*Tracks 11-13 are BestBuy exclusive tracks.

Performers

• Jon Bunch - vocals
• Josh Colbert - guitar
• Derick Cordoba - guitar
• Chad Neptune - bass
• Steve Kleisath - drums
• James Wisner - keys, additional guitar

Album information

• Record label: Tooth & Nail Records
• All songs written by Further Seems Forever.
• Produced, engineered, and recorded by James Paul Wisner at Wisner Productions.
• Drums recorded at Landmark Studios.
• Vocal pre-production on tracks 1-3, 7, & 9 by Holly Louis.
• Mixed by James Paul Wisner at The Sound Kitchen except "Already Gone" mixed by Jeremy du Bois at The Dungeon Recording Studio in north Miami, Florida.
• Executive producer: Brandon Ebel.
• Layout by Jason Oda for Starvingeyes Inc.

References

---