Hide Nothing

In early January 2004, the band was reportedly recording with James Paul Wisner at his studio in Florida for their third album.[1] Gleason got as far as recording vocals for one track,[2] before leaving the band in late January.[3] He cited that they "spent too much time" together "packed in a box".[4] Though he initially agreed to finish working on the album, he backed out, leaving the group to complete it amidst financial pressure.[3] Drummer Steve Kleisath said the manner that Gleason "went about things was horrible and it affected a lot more people than just us, as far as the bad timing of it."[5] Despite an announcement that they planned to break up,[6] the band revealed former Sense Field frontman Jon Bunch as their new vocalist on February 29.[7] Recording concluded by the end of April and was being mastered in early May.[8]

Musically, the sound of Hide Nothing has been described as emo with elements of progressive metal and pop.[9] Kleisath said it combined elements from the group's first two albums The Moon Is Down (2001) and How to Start a Fire. He said Bunch's lyrics were "a lot less metaphorical and more up front".[2] The opening track "Light Up Ahead" tackles the theme of spiritual salvation.[9] The closing track "For All We Know" is an acoustic-and-piano track with a string section.[10]

The band played their first show with Bunch in early May 2004.[8] On June 17, Hide Nothing was announced for release in August. In addition, "Light Up Ahead" was posted online.[11] On July 19, the title-track was posted online.[12] In early August, leading up to the album's August 24 release, several songs were made available through the band's website.[13] In September and October, the band went on a west coast US tour.[2] In February 2005, the band embarked on a major US tour with the Starting Line, Days Away and JamisonParker.[14] They performed at The Bamboozle festival in May with original vocalist Chris Carrabba,[15] before emarking on a UK tour the following month.[16] In August, the group embarked on an North American tour with Number One Gun and Project 86.[17] In early January 2006, the band announced they would be breaking up.[18] Five of the album's tracks – the title-track, "Light Up Ahead", "Like Someone You Know", "Bleed" and "For All We Know", as well as the acoustic version of "Light Up Ahead" – later appeared on the group's compilation album Hope This Finds You Well (2006).[10]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	Favorable[9]
Cross Rhythms	[19]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[20]
Melodic	[21]
Technique	Unfavorable[14]

Christian Broadcasting Network included the album as an honorable mention on their best albums of 2004 list.[22] Jesus Freak Hideout ranked it at number 81 on their list of the top 100 Tooth & Nail releases.[23]

Jesus Freak Hideout staff member Josh Taylor said Bunch's vocals were "much more melodic and ambient" than Gleason's or Carrabba's, though not as emotional as the latter, "but the power is there."[20] Most of the time, it was a "mellow, yet sonic" release, with the tracks "pick[ing] up on occasion."[20] Cross Rhythms writer Haydon Spenceley said the group "have struck gold" with the inclusion of Bunch: "This boy can SING."[19] The group offered their "most immediate material to date", which could "see Further Seems Forever cementing their place at the centre of the underground rock scene."[19]

With the album, AllMusic said the band furthered their developing brand of "appealing ... melodic emo-core", coming across as "a more finely tuned sense of songcraft" than How to Start a Fire.[9] The resultant mixture of confessional singer-songwriter elements, aggressive guitar work and harmonies "should appeal to both the hardcore set and lovers of emo-tinged indie rock."[9] Kaj Roth of Melodic said the record showed the band "has new fuel for their engines and feels more rocking and vital than before."[21] He noted its short length, where "only 2 songs are longer than 3 minutes", was one of its strengths, "so you get to know all the songs much faster than the average rock album."[21] Technique's Gopinath Jayaprakash said it had " very little to offer for its fans or for that matter, anyone who appreciates rock."[14] He criticized the short running time, and said it was "not something worth listening to more than once."[14]

All lyrics written by Jon Bunch; all music written by Josh Colbert, Chad Neptune, Steve Kleisath and Derick Cordoba.

1. "Light Up Ahead" – 3:08
2. "Hide Nothing" – 2:56
3. "Already Gone" – 3:52
4. "Like Someone You Know" – 3:16
5. "Make it a Part" – 2:41
6. "All Rise" – 2:49
7. "Call on the Life" – 2:52
8. "Lead the Way" – 2:32
9. "Bleed" – 2:57
10. "For All We Know" – 5:21
11. "Bleed" (acoustic)* – 3:23
12. "Light Up Ahead" (acoustic)* – 3:02
13. "Make it a Part/All Rise" (acoustic)* – 4:25

*Tracks 11-13 are BestBuy exclusive tracks.

• Jon Bunch - vocals
• Josh Colbert - guitar
• Derick Cordoba - guitar
• Chad Neptune - bass
• Steve Kleisath - drums
• James Wisner - keys, additional guitar

• Record label: Tooth & Nail Records
• All songs written by Further Seems Forever.
• Produced, engineered, and recorded by James Paul Wisner at Wisner Productions.
• Drums recorded at Landmark Studios.
• Vocal pre-production on tracks 1-3, 7, & 9 by Holly Louis.
• Mixed by James Paul Wisner at The Sound Kitchen except "Already Gone" mixed by Jeremy du Bois at The Dungeon Recording Studio in north Miami, Florida.
• Executive producer: Brandon Ebel.
• Layout by Jason Oda for Starvingeyes Inc.

Citations

Sources