Hidden Orchestra

This is the second album release from Edinburgh, UK's Hidden Orchestra. Consisting of duelling drummers Tim Lane and Jamie Graham, with piano and violin from Poppy Ackroyd and Joe Acheson on bass and samples. Standout track "Spoken" also features skittish, muted trumpet of Phil Cardwell. An immersive union of downtempo jazz and post-rock, Hidden Orchestra occasionally skirt the borderline of cheese, but thankfully manage to stay on the right side of it, for the most part, losing their way slightly on tracks like "Flight," but regaining it fully on "Vorka," which features Su-a Lee on the musical saw, as well as layered cello parts. Equal parts Cinematic Orchestra, the Bad Plus and Do Make Say Think, with Archipelago, Hidden Orchestra have created a great work that could make the perfect soundtrack to snowed-in Sunday nights during the Canadian winter, if we get one, of course.