The Hidden Cameras

With their poetic mix of queer politics, explicit sexuality, and theatrical spectacle, the Hidden Cameras have built an ambitious and truly original catalog of music that spans indie pop, folk-rock, electronic, and elaborate symphonic pop. Led by the enigmatic Joel Gibb, the group bubbled up out of Toronto's underground in the early-2000s and became the first Canadian act to sign with venerable U.K. label Rough Trade for whom they recorded a string of groundbreaking albums that extended far beyond their queercore roots. They built up an international profile with releases like 2003's The Smell of Our Own, 2004's Mississauga Goddamn, and 2009's Origin:Orphan, after which Gibb relocated to Berlin. The band's first German release, 2014's Age, embraced a darker, more synthetic style, though they pivoted to warm, country-flavored folk-rock on 2016's Home on Native Land. Rough Trade issued a deluxe anniversary edition of The Smell of Our Own in 2023 and Gibb returned in 2025 with a new Hidden Cameras single "How Do You Love?"