The Hidden Cameras - Home On Native Land (2016)

The Hidden Cameras bring it back home to release their sixth studio album, Home On Native Land, marking the beginning of a new chapter for singer-songwriter Joel Gibb. An Americana ode to Gibb's native country, he returns to Canadian soil both physically and philosophically. Written and recorded over ten years by Joel Gibb, this seminal album once again sees Gibb assembling friends, bandmates and icons including Feist, Bahamas, Ron Sexsmith, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Rufus Wainwright, Neil Tennant and longtime collaborator and producer Don Kerr to accompany him on this adventure in revisionist history. On Home On Native Land, The Hidden Cameras explore the expansive musical landscape of the Canadian countryside delivering an album rich with feelings of lonesome cowboy blues and heartbreak to toe-tapping rhythms and campfire sing-a-longs. Each song is a journey beckoning the listener to follow - to gather 'round the fire, sing until you fall asleep and share the same dream. It's a place that you might not have been before but which feels like home. The Hidden Cameras borrows from the classic country songbook, reimagining soulful standards like "Dark End of the Street," and "Don't Make Promises" originally recorded by Tim Harden. "Log Driver's Waltz" is The Hidden Camera's cover of one of the most successful and beloved Canadian folk songs of all time. "He is the Boss of Me," is Gibb covering himself with a rerecording of an early 4-track demo from 2001's Ecce Homo, now given a full studio treatment. Transitioning into the genre with infectious melodies on the original tracks "Big Blue" and "Drunk Dancer's Waltz," with Home On Native Land, The Hidden Cameras reach into the past to find new ground, while singing playfully pointed lyrics oozing with hopefulness and sorrow.