Hiding Places started as an almost tradition-like practice; meeting in rural Georgia for a week or two at a time to record and write; to open themselves up to songs that would visit and hone their technical ability to capture them. It makes sense that the band formed while three of its members were DJs at their college radio station at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They embrace music as a means of communication, identity-forming, and deeper understanding of human nature.
Songwriters/guitarists Audrey Keelin and Nicholas Byrne alternate between fronting the band, sharing lead vocals and lending the 10-song record the tone of an intimate conversation with room for silence and deeper concentration. Rounded out by a rhythm section of drummer Henry Cutting and bassist/producer Michael Matsakis, they’ve developed a forward-thinking sound with a sense of nostalgia built into it: a blend that draws from the collage-like indie rock of Yo La Tengo, the elegant slowcore of The New Year, the riffy story-songs of Drive-By Truckers, and the analogue hum of The Microphones.
The Secret to Good Living, which bridges their fuzzy home-recorded demos with their first experience in a professional recording studio, helps translate their humble beginnings to the big stages for which they seem destined. It’s the product of hermetic late-night sessions, collaborative writing retreats and an evolving perspective on their singular dynamic. After years of working remotely, this record marks the collective result of the quartet living together in a city for the first time—an experience that amplified the band’s creative bond and connected them with fellow North Carolina transplants in the city.
“We’ve built a Southern home in New York and simultaneously get to experience the cultures of the world that collide here,” Byrne says of their tight-knit community and enduring connections to their hometowns, where they frequently return. “Within 24 hours, I could be at Myrtle Broadway and then in rural Georgia sighting in a hunting rifle. Living between Southern landscapes and New York, and carrying those lessons and experiences with us, has been the story of this band.” On The Secret to Good Living, Hiding Places follow this thread, navigating their mid-to-late 20s and using songwriting as a portal for self-discovery and exploration. Tellingly, the concept raised in the title arrives not in a prescriptive philosophy but as an ongoing inquiry: “Oh, what’s the secret to good living,” Byrne and Keelin ask in unison. “How was I supposed to know?”
Each element of the band’s sound is poised for maximum emotional impact, a strength they’ve developed from years on the road. The band formed during a fruitful period for independent music in North Carolina, and Colin Miller (MJ Lenderman, Indigo De Souza) produced the band’s previous release, 2024’s Lesson EP. Since then, they’ve shared stages with influences and peers throughout North America including Wednesday, Little Mazarn, and Friendship’s Dan Wriggins.
For Hiding Places, this is the type of insight that rises above the maelstrom of daily life: somewhere between happy and sad, honest and profound, destined to endure within the deep black grooves of your next favorite record.
