Emo in the 90s was completely different than it is today: bands were forming all over the world and most didn’t last very long. Strictly Ballroom is no exception to this, but what they did accomplish in their short stint together is something to be proud of. 

Around this time Midwest Emo was still figuring out what it wanted to be and Strictly Ballroom’s album Hide Here Forever played around with this idea. This record is filled with angst and passion, just like most in the genre, however it experiments with other genres as well. The most notable of which has to be Post-Rock, which is a subgenre of rock that focuses on creating texture and atmosphere. 

As a staple in almost every Emo record, the lyrics are a big part of the album and its appeal. This is another category in which Hide Here Forever excels at. While other albums will explicitly spill their sorrows out, this one leaves it up for interpretation. This allows for the listener to easily insert themselves into the scenes described in the songs. Even if you weren’t in a dramatic breakup, you can still imagine times you were in scenarios similar to this.

This record opens with the track “A Picture,” which sets the vibe immediately. Starting with just a few strums of the guitar, the drums quickly fill in the space, and are eventually followed by Christ Gunst’s singing. Something you will notice often on this album is how he will take a backseat from the music and let the rest of the band really shine. His sparse vocals are a massive strength to the record by giving much more weight to every moment where he does sing, and in some instances, scream. 

The record is filled with incredible vocals from Gunst and layered guitars that really convey the sense of pain that he’s feeling. Passion oozes on almost every song and there is enough variety in the vocals for none of the songs to become boring. Gunst will usually start out most songs singing in a fairly typical manner but towards the end of these tracks something changes. Specifically in the song “Something That Just Is,” towards the tail end of the song his vocals turn to sobs of pure sorrow as he exclaims: 

“Tomorrow, I don’t know who I am or can be

Somebody, I don’t know who I am or can be

I don’t know who I am or can be

Somebody, I don’t know, I don’t know.”

You truly feel his pain and you can put yourself in his shoes. What this album is best at is conveying to you the emotions that Strictly Ballroom all felt. While 7 songs filled with angst play out, you are met with this LP’s closer, “A Sudden Interest in Nature.”

While the album has already been fantastic throughout you look at the tracklist and see there’s only one song left. You’re ready to hear how they close out everything and your expectations are shattered. An album containing songs that range from 3 to 5 minutes long ends with a 15 minute long one? It will immediately catch your attention as you excitedly prepare yourself for what you’re about to listen to. 

While I’m not one for needlessly using superlatives, this track is where I change my mind about that. Before I start describing it I’ll state that I’d consider this the best song I’ve ever heard. It begins with a simple bassline which then has very subtle guitars and drums come in, along with the sounds of a breeze passing through. Shortly after Christ Gunst starts singing,

“You walk through the front door

I was there, I cry

I saw the window fade away

The news held me down for hours.”

The fragility in his voice and in the instruments tells you that you should expect a very somber track, however this is not the case. Eventually the instrumental begins swelling and you can tell it’s leading to something. After this starts, Gunst begins singing again but with much more assurance in his voice. This quickly changes to him nearly yelling out his vocals while backing vocals fill out the rest of the words. While all this is happening the guitars become more intense and continue building upward.

Gunst begins singing again but this time the layered guitars drown out his voice while the mix is played around with. A main guitar takes the center stage and drives the song while everything else is merely supporting and allowing it to shine. The entire time the drums are powering onward and keeping everything moving. The leading guitar melody is constantly changing and evolving while everything in the track keeps on crescendoing. 

The feedback of an amp enters the track and creates a droning sound effect just underneath the main guitar part as the instrumental slowly dies down. The drums begin to slow and the instruments back off while the main guitar plays itself out and dissipates. You are only left with the backing guitars, the bass, and the drums that are losing steam every second. Soon the bass takes the stage again as the panning in the mix passes back and forth.

For the next five minutes you listen to the album die out and end right in front of you. As you listen to the sounds of the ocean and the only lasting pieces of the track’s ascendance, it takes a strange turn. It becomes distorted and disorienting, with sounds you cannot identify. It all becomes an unidentifiable mess leaving you confused and satisfied. The track itself is the perfect outro for such an album and plays as such. Taking up ⅓ of the album’s length, it truly does its job.

Strictly Ballroom’s Hide Here Forever is a staple in Midwest Emo and in my opinion, a 10/10 album.