The Hidden Cameras

Hidden Cameras songwriter Joel Gibb has a talent for sound bites. He says he writes “gay church folk music.” It’s an attention-getting blurb, but it doesn’t prepare you for the gorgeous pop he creates with his band, an ever-shifting collective of 13 or so. The galloping beats, new-wave guitar jangle, dance-club bass lines and low-budget Spector-esque production bluster all add up to a bright, giddy vibe. The lyrics tackle the usual subject of love vs. lust, but Gibb’s angelic tenor infuses the tunes with a religious—make that pagan—sweetness. The mystically ecstatic songs on Awoo are marked by swooning romanticism and delirious orchestration, with melodies so aching and elegant that they’ll make the wings of your heart flutter with joy.