photos by Matthew Parmenter and Hugh Syme
“…Herin’s strongest quality here is his touching introspectiveness… Hiding In Plain Sight is a richly and impactful debut…” – Prog Magazine
Just a few weeks after the release of Hiding In Plain Sight, the debut from HERIN – the progressive/post-rock solo venture of Tiles/Discipline guitarist Chris Herin – another new video arrives. The new visual was created for “Slow To Crumble,” the song featuring Juno award-winning Canadian progressive rock duo Crown Lands.
A conceptual work recounting Chris Herin’s difficult walk alongside his father’s ten-year struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, HERIN’s Hiding In Plain Sight combines distinctive prog and art rock influences that alternate from sophisticated orchestral arrangements and polyrhythmic complexity to contrasting cinematic soundscapes and ambitious guitar workouts. The album is a bold and adventurous fusion of musical palettes as the distinguished roster of guest artists propels HERIN’s songs into inspired and expansive directions.
“Slow To Crumble” is a propulsive and infectious rock tune – with a few sneaky odd-meter bits thrown in for good measure – and features the clear, pitch-perfect tenor of Cody Bowles and the instrumental prowess of Kevin Comeau. As the Canadian duo collectively known as Crown Lands, they both worked tirelessly with producer Terry Brown to capture the emotive lead vocals and deliver crucial instrumental embellishments. HERIN, however, is quick to take credit for the slide guitar parts using a butter knife from Brown’s kitchen, having forgotten the real thing! Recipients of the 2021 Juno Award for Breakthrough Group Of The Year, Crown Lands continues to tour with notable headliners such as Jack White, Greta Van Fleet, and Kiss. “Slow To Crumble” also features the driving groove of rhythm section Ben Riley (drums) and Kevin Chown (bass) with the ubiquitous Mark Mikel chiming in once again on backing vocals.
Chris Herin reflects on the song’s musical origins, “I vividly remember when this song spilled out. I was casually chatting with my wife and son in our living room and strumming away absent-mindedly. Fortunately, I learned long ago to record bits of spontaneous noodling because you never know what might spill out. After interrupting their flow of conversation (no small feat) the parts were duly memorialized on Memorex. I’m not saying the song was perfectly constructed on the spot, but pretty darn close – which rarely happens (for me). The song’s lyrics describe the trajectory of dementia as the afflicted likely recognizes something is not right and begins to deal with the frustrations of deteriorating capabilities. They also touch upon the caregiver’s parallel challenges on the roller coaster of support.”
Watch the video for HERIN’s “Slow To Crumble,” directed by Mathew Kennedy, at THIS LOCATION.
If you missed them, watch the previously released videos for “The Darkest Hour” HERE, “Warning Signs” HERE, and “The Heart Of You” HERE.
With a portion of this album’s proceeds to be donated to Alzheimer’s charities, Hiding In Plain Sight is available in a limited digipak CD including an 8-page booklet The Laser’s Edge webshop HERE, and is streaming everywhere including and Bandcamp – the standard digital HERE and the 24-bit hi-res HERE.
HERIN teamed up with renowned producer Terry Brown (Rush) and Grammy award-winning mastering engineer Peter Moore (Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell) who give Hiding In Plain Sight a luxurious and dynamic sonic landscape. For the attentive and patient music enthusiast, each listen gradually reveals the album’s cache of nuanced and subtle details. Complementing the reflective and occasionally disquieting lyrics is Hugh Syme’s (Rush) whimsical and engaging imagery, the artwork capturing the album’s sensibilities of time and place for a compelling and enigmatic visual counterpart.
Hiding In Plain Sight is a collection of thoughtful observations and somber meditations while Herin sidestepped through the debris field and collateral damage of the growing Alzheimer’s storm. Eleven watershed moments echo the fragile impermanence of life and encourage the listener to turn inward in sympathetic introspection. Abundant prog filigree adorns the album, and musical adventure abounds as sprawling vocal hooks glide over angular riffs, richly textured instrumentation, and brooding ambient orchestrations.
Lending their exceptional talents to Hiding In Plain Sight is an impressive cast of nearly thirty musicians, including Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame members Peter Frampton and Alex Lifeson (Rush), plus Martin Barre, John O’Hara, and Doane Perry (Jethro Tull), Michael Sadler (Saga), Kim Mitchell (Max Webster), Cody Bowles and Kevin Comeau (Crown Lands), Jeff Kollman and Shane Gaalaas (Cosmosquad), Tim Bowness (No-Man), Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Randy McStine (Steven Wilson), Kevin Chown (Tarja, Chad Smith), Matthew Parmenter (Discipline), Hugh Syme, Johnathan Blake (Kenny Barron), Ben Riley (Mohsen Namjoo), Gary Craig (Bruce Cockburn), David Barrett, Jimmy Keegan (Spock’s Beard), and many more.
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