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- Artist: Kimya Dawson
- Rating:
- Release Date: October 05, 2004
- Genre: Rock
Review
Hidden Vagenda, Kimya Dawson's fourth post-Moldy Peaches solo album and her first for K Records, adopts a fuller, more polished sound than her earlier work, but her songwriting is just as innocent and heartfelt-sounding as ever. She uses this naïve (in the best sense of the word) approach to get at deeper truths about heavy subjects such as war, capitalism, death, and abuse; lyrics like "Fire"'s "you swallow hard and you bottle it up/try to pretend you're a half-full cup" are both charming and incisive. And even though turns of phrase such as "weapons of mass instruction" are a bit on the obvious side, Dawson usually pulls them off, thanks to her whimsical, somewhat self-deprecating delivery. But every now and then, Hidden Vagenda loses its way and crosses over from sweetly whimsical to gratingly faux-innocent: on the goofy "Parade" and "Anthrax (Powerballad Version)" -- a strangely overwrought song about Dawson's nightmare about post-9/11 New York City -- it's hard to tell how much of the music is earnest and how much is ironic. Still, most of the album seems genuine, particularly "Blue Like Nevermind," a pretty, folky round with intricately linked lyrics, and the bittersweet "Singing Machine," which boasts one of the album's prettiest melodies. Although it's a little too long for its own good, Hidden Vagenda's message is out in the open: caring may be painful sometimes, but it's the only way to cope with the world around you. ~ Heather Phares, All Music GuideTracks
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| It's Been Raining | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:04) |
| Fire | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:20) |
| Viva la Persistence | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:47) |
| Lullaby for the Taken | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:46) |
| I Will Never Forget | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (5:19) |
| Singing Machine | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:48) |
| Moving On | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:08) |
| Blue Like Nevermind | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:03) |
| My Heroes | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:13) |
| Parade | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:58) |
| 5 Years | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:03) |
| Anthrax (Powerballad Version) | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (5:45) |
| You Love Me | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (2:39) |
| Angels and Seagulls | Kimya Dawson | Kimya Dawson | (3:08) |
