MEDIA -
Icons
- AIM Icons
- Livejournal/MSN Icons

Graphics

Picture Gallery
Discography
- Lyrics
- Soundclips
- Song Inspiration
- Song Leads


Articles

Clint And Bob Moffatt Reemerge As Hidell
Wednesday June 04, 2003 @ 03:00 PM
Written By: Darrin Keene
Source: ChartAttack.com


Moffattmania may no longer be running wild, but that doesn't mean the Moffatt clan has been sitting idle.


We haven't heard much from The Moffatts since they went into hiding in late 2001. While Dave Moffatt has been taking a break from the band circuit, brothers Clint, Bob and Scott have been busy with new musical projects.


Scott has been occupied with his emo-esque band The Boston Post, which recently played an impressive show at the New Music West Festival in Vancouver. Meanwhile, Clint and Bob have been busy with Hidell, the band they've formed with guitarists Paul Cimolini and Christopher Ainsley. Hidell (pronounced "High-dell") is the most significant project to come out of the Moffatt camp since they broke countless female hearts with their 2001 break-up.


The band had previously been known as Pusch (with guitarist Shaun MacPherson in the lineup instead of Ainsley), which is also the name of a trendy clothing line. The name change to Hidell has mellowed the harder sound that the band was focusing on as Pusch.


"We hadnÕt really found ourselves," says Clint Moffatt of the earlier band. "We had a lot of heavy rock influences then, but that fell through. We stopped listening to music for a while and then said, 'Well, if we're going to write some music, we might as well write what comes off our guitars as we play them.' The sound ended up being a lot different."


"Different" ended up being quite familiar, actually. Hidell's debut album Up And Coming is full of those trademark catchy Moffatt hooks, although the songs do shimmer with more of a Brit-pop sound. Take a track like "Venus Butterfly" Ñ with its anthemic chorus, it could easily be mistaken for a long-lost Oasis song. "That was a melody that just came out really strong," says Clint. "It really does stick with you."


Clint hints that Hidell's debut album is the tip of the iceberg. "I think the next record is the one where we'll take our influences and give our own distinct design," says Clint. "I hope to keep the Moffatts sound, because it's what weÕre based on. We've always had that 'big chorus' sound."


First things first, however. Up And Coming will be released by EMI in August and theyÕre performing this Thursday (June 5) at Toronto's Reverb club as part of the North By Northeast Festival.