The Frauds
Hiding Out Loud
Orange Rock Records
By Eavvon O'Neal
What does one think of when you hear the phrase ‘Hiding out loud’: Muddled senses or perhaps a game of hide-n-seek gone awry? Well both of those would be wrong, sorry kid. Actually, Hiding Out Loud is the second release from Baltimore kids The Frauds; the album is interesting musically, but more so intellectually. Its almost a well adjusted love album for those too proud to fall into the abyss of self-deprecation, but still forlorn. Like the title suggests, there is nothing truly hidden on this album.
It's very hard to walk the tightrope over depression. It's even more difficult to be able to clearly describe staring into the depths of your soul without using vague analogies and abstract concepts. The Frauds come close to painting some vivid images by counteracting instinctual reactions. On "Strawberry Soul" instead of crying "why can't you love me", bassist Eric Emerson muses "why does a girl always have to be a girlfriend? Is it because you can't depend on self?" That's a pretty sick burn that helps escape self-reflectivity in lyrics that is a trend that is becoming way too prevalent. Still, the song "To Fall in Love" keeps the boys’ feet on the ground, and their hearts on their sleeves. It's fair to say you can't truly escape the clutches of emotion and sentimentality, but it 's a nice thought for us troubled cynics. Hope is not lost, for the track "Love Me Don't" is heartbreak for the rage-a-holic; nothing brutal, but a quick rebuttal to the ladies to "chose to keep it real" to the point of rejection.
The rest of the album is on par with their self-titled debut. "Pull Me Over" shows some creativity with the use of wrenches to tinker franticly beneath the three-part harmony. The nostalgic croon of "Her Way" holds a feel best coupled with a Zach Braff film, for better or worse. All of these tracks are far from hiding, and place everything on the table, spades up. Hearts get broken, love gets lost, and we move on. No tires seem to have been harmed in the making of this album, only egos, which may hit closer to home than any boy with guyliner ever could hope to with sad songs about no one ever liking him. The Frauds do a pretty impressive job of downplaying the sad, and taking hold of possibilities. Even with that said, one has to wonder, that with a title Hiding Out Loud and a name like The Frauds, maybe there is more creeping beneath the surface that we can know on this album.
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