story by Cliff Berru
photo by Guntar Kravis

One may wonder why Rolling Stone ranked Mississauga Goddam, the celestial sophomore release from Toronto's sexually explicit choir boys, the Hidden Cameras, among "the best records you didn't hear" of the year 2004. The record's equestrian beauty may have galloped past the American masses, but there exists a unique selection of individuals fortunate enough to genuflect before this symphonic orchestration of wind instrumentation and gushing vocal magnificence.

Rather than existing in the shadow of similar orchestral rock brethren like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the Hidden Cameras create the light in the silhouette. Drawing from an almost concerto elegance, frontman Joel Gibb sprinkles pop sensibility into this opus of sound, with a narrative fluency so expressive it's difficult not to find attachment in the Hidden Cameras. Gibb's vocals find solace in the heart and richness of early Dylan, ala Nashville Skyline, with the ambition of Mark Knopfler's most "Dire of Straits."

GIBB'S INNER VIEW "Well, as you know half of America is super progressive and half of it is not….the half that's not seem to be deciding everything."

Mississauga Goddam is the type of record one looks forward to coming home to every night, but unlike one's lover it never loses shape. It's the kind of record you'll never skip back on because expectations are equally as sincere for each impending track. Chicago Innerview chatted briefly with multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Joel Gibb to figure out what's so hush hush with these Hidden Cameras.

Chicago Innerview: How are reactions to your music, the new record at least?
Joel Gibb: Canadian reactions are really good, Britain is mixed because the last record was so unanimously praised, and sadly America is practically dead with its overall consensus on the record.

CI: Do you think it has anything to do with some of the vivid imagery and how it coexists with certain notions of sexuality? I guess what I mean is maybe the States aren't as progressive in those terms.
JG: Well, as you know half of America is super progressive and half of it is not….the half that's not seem to be deciding everything. It's not that they aren't progressive, I guess it's just a bit of a protected market.

CI: Mississauga is where you grew up…I guess some would find it fitting to name their record after their hometown, especially while you make reference to it. From what I understand though, Mississauga Goddam is also a reference to Nina Simone….
JG: 'Mississippi Goddam' is her song….There is no relation lyrically or musically, but the title references her song. It's related.

CI: Did she grow up in Mississippi?
JG: The song is an anti-racism song talking about different redneck states and it's with a real theory I approached the idea of writing about where you come from. I come from a culturally void suburb of Toronto...not a lot going on. Thankfully no lynching, but a lot of it is apathy. It's polluted. There is no sense of community….[It's] an example of what cultural theorists have been saying over the past decade about forgetting who we are and becoming more discarnate - ignorant of our past and our neighbors.

CI: I think this is a perfect example of how effectively vivid some of your songs can get, they all seem to be very personal.
JG: I always want to make my songs about something; I try not to be….

CI: Too abstract?
JG: Not too abstract, but sometimes it's fun to be abstract. There are a whole bunch of new songs that are just more phonetic, except there are so many lyrics because I am singing so quickly that the songs themselves are often about language and cognition. I think it's verging on abstract because I can be singing about theoretical things, but in a very poppy way.

The Hidden Cameras :: with Scotland Yard Gospel Choir :: Subterranean :: February 17.