Billy Woods and Kenny Segal made Hiding Places to sound like two rappers locked in a small room with no air. The record is built on dread, suffering and grim acceptance, and it wants you to feel uncomfortable while you listen to it. That discomfort is the point.
This is a dense, jangled album, and it asks for patience. The songs pile ideas on top of each other — politics, family, violence, failure — without much room for a breath between them. It is not a record that explains itself easily, and it is not meant to. It is meant to sit heavy in your chest.
Opening With spongebob
The record starts with “spongebob,” a song about faith and identity that runs over three and a half minutes. It sets the tone immediately: sharp, uneasy, and unwilling to soften the edge. This is the song that critics singled out, and it earns that attention. It is a strong opening statement, and it tells you exactly what kind of record this is going to be.
“steak knives” follows at just over a minute and a half. It is a quick, blunt piece that does not waste time. It is not the strongest track on the record, but it holds the pace and keeps the energy up after the opener.
“checkpoints” stretches past three minutes and leans on repetition to build tension. It is a solid track, but it does not reach the heights of the songs around it. It works best as a bridge between the record’s sharper moments.
spider hole Through houthi
“spider hole” is where the record finds its clearest voice. At nearly four minutes, it is one of the longest tracks here, and it uses its length to build a sense of being trapped. The line “No man of the people, I wouldn’t be caught dead with most of y’all” cuts through the track, and it is easy to see why critics singled it out. This is a song about isolation and refusal, and it lands harder than almost anything else on the record.
“houthi” is shorter, tighter, and more direct. The line “Cut my shadow off with a dull knife” is brutal and exact, and it sums up the whole record in a single image. This is the kind of song that rewards repeated listens, even though it does not ask for much attention the first time.
“a day in a week in a year” runs just over five minutes and moves slowly. It is a patient track, built on repetition and atmosphere rather than force. It does not hit as hard as some of the songs around it, but it adds weight to the record’s central theme of dread.
bedtime Through crawlspace
“bedtime” is brief, under two and a half minutes, and it feels like a pause rather than a full song. It is not a weak track, but it does not leave much of an impression either.
“crawlspace” closes this stretch at nearly four minutes and picks up the pace again. It is a restless track, full of movement, and it sets up the final stretch of the record.
speak gently Through toothy
“speak gently” is the longest track on the record at over four and a half minutes, and it uses that length to explore its subject matter. It is a demanding listen, and it rewards patience. It is not the easiest song here, but it is one of the most complete.
“toothy” is shorter, sharper, and more direct. It does not stay with you the way some of the other tracks do, but it keeps the record moving forward.
bigfakelaugh and red dust
“bigfakelaugh” is where the record reaches its peak. The line “I got a letter from my insurer the other day” cuts through the track, and it is easy to see why critics singled it out. This is a song about insurance and the collapse of trust, and it hits harder than almost anything else on the record.
“red dust” closes the record at just over three minutes, and it brings the whole thing to a close. It is a fitting end, tying together the threads of dread and failure that run through the entire record.
The Songs That Stand Out
The songs that stand out are the ones that commit fully to the record’s themes. Here is what makes them work:
- “spongebob” opens the record with a sharp, uneasy statement about faith and identity.
- “spider hole” builds a sense of being trapped through its length and its isolation.
- “houthi” cuts through with a single brutal image: “Cut my shadow off with a dull knife.”
- “bigfakelaugh” delivers a line about insurance that lands harder than almost anything else on the record.
These tracks do not pull back or explain themselves. They present images, let them sit, and move on. The lesser tracks are not failures, but they do not reach the same heights. They are the connective tissue between the stronger songs.
The Verdict
Hiding Places is a dense, uncomfortable record that rewards patience. It is not an easy listen, and it does not want to be. But the songs that work — “spongebob,” “spider hole,” “houthi,” “bigfakelaugh” — are among the strongest in Woods’s catalog. The record drags in spots, and it does not always know when to stop, but its best moments are genuinely powerful.
This is a record about dread and suffering, and it does not apologize for that. It is a sweaty, jangled rumination on stress and fear and hopelessness and grim acceptance, and it is better for being unflinching about all of it.
- spongebob3:53
- steak knives1:29
- checkpoints3:13
- spider hole3:41
- houthi2:45
- a day in a week in a year5:05
- bedtime2:16
- crawlspace3:46
- speak gently4:54
- toothy2:18
- bigfakelaugh3:49
- red dust3:25
