Excerpt: “The band takes us on a journey through images they have captured in their mind, reforming them into a wide variety of tracks, ranging from cliff-hanging moments featuring crashing cymbals and feedback-laden electric guitar to the romantic and melodic sound of glockenspiels and strings. The group not only showcases these elements expertly, but infuses them together along with the sounds of trumpets, samples, clarinet, powerful bass guitar, piano, and synth sounds… Soundcheck for a Missing Movie is a must-listen for its unique, post rock-based take on the usual symphonic movie soundtrack we expect in our heads, a la John Williams. HC-B is doing something special, and is sure to take you on a journey of epic proportions.”

The Silent Ballet

Excerpt (translated from the Italian): “HC-B are five Italian guys from Catania that have been playing together for 10 years… a fusion of sound and images, long phrasings, evident rhythms. Their music is independent rock; in fact, there aren’t any pop motifs nor banal verse/refrain structures, moving away from any known definitions toward its own universe.”

I Love Sicilia, May 2009

Excerpt (translated from the Italian): “Today it’s so hard to find an album that communicates so much; a disc which transmits true emotions… This is a well-played album that marks an evolution from their previous album Sliding on Barents Sea (2003).”

Beat, June 2009

Excerpt: “This is an album that is vast in scope and imagination. Ranging from the seductively melodic, through to thrillingly intense and dramatic movements, it will both stimulate and captivate the listener. Its power is that it successfully creates a labyrinth of vivid visual images within your mind, like those left behind by the man who provided the inspiration… The album triumphantly builds towards several peaks of symphonic brilliance. Attention to detail, well developed ideas, and formidable instrumentation are all very much to the fore… It is little wonder that Hidden Shoal Recordings have been likened to 4AD. Bringing expansive music of this quality, from a band who can give devoted attention to detail one moment whilst contriving together to create free form cinematic rock the next, has to be applauded. Clearly this is a band that has as much focus as HC-B himself.”

Blog Critics