1. One
2. Red Lights
3. Latin America
4. Stay Lit
5. Silva & Grimes
6. SHT MTN
7. Stilletos
8. Lucky
9. Pigs
Toronto’s Holy Fuck have quite a status among music nerds, in part down to their tunes and partly because of their mesmerising live performances. Having personally seen them perform live I can say that it is not an experience you’re likely to forget.
But another reason that people seem to like them is due to their status, where they fall on the music snobs’ radar. It starts with that band you saw supporting your mate’s side project in the pub last week at the bottom, and ends with Radiohead/Animal Collective/Your personal great of choice at the top. Holy Fuck have always seemed to float around the small-medium band mark, always gaining appreciation and adulation from anyone that listens to them or sees them live. They’re a likeable band because of this, but it’s also frustrating that with Latin, their third full length release, they show no signs of declaring themselves electronic heavyweights.
Confusingly, Latin gets off to a strong start. The looming, epic opener of “1MD” genuinely does make you sit back and take stock; it’s certainly not what I thought the first track on the new Holy Fuck album would be like. Instrumental save for a few sinister voices the track builds and builds to an unsettling climax, and just when the noise seems overwhelming, it slides seamlessly into album highlight “Red Lights”, surely the funkiest thing to be released so far this year. Sporting a fiendishly addictive bassline and the kind of off kilter electronics you would associate with the band, it’s the closest Holy Fuck will ever come to writing a song to party to. It’s surprising then that the next track, “Latin America”, was picked to be the first single. It’s not a bad song, but it is quintessentially Holy Fuck. It’s hardly the track you would pick to get your fans psyched up about your return from a three year absence, nor is it the track you’d release as a single to make any new ones. Piano and synth combine to produce the kind of “Experimental” track that your parents could probably get behind.
Throughout the album the bass is the star of the show, skilfully played by...the guy with the beard. Is it? I’m not even sure. I know one of them has a beard. I’m just about sure that there are four of them. One of the big barriers keeping these guys back from the big leagues is a serious lack of personality. I’m not suggesting for a second that we should be advocating style over substance, but come on, there has to be some style, or else it’s boring as holy fuck (pun intended). Granted communicating some sort of personality is going to be harder with largely instrumental music, but their image of faceless wannabe Ocean’s 11 soundtrackers isn’t helped by the likes of “Silvia & Grimes”, offering some instruments, played quite well. “SHT MTN” offers contrast at least, electronics crunching and grinding alongside a robotic vocal to haunting effect. The only other song worth mentioning is the grand “Lucky”, somehow managing to sound inoffensive yet epic at the same time.
Latin is an ok album. There are a few tracks that deserve your attention and without trying to sound condescending, it does make great background music. It’s not going to change the world, but there’s not necessarily anything wrong with that and another spin of “Red Lights” is always good to brighten up your day, it’s just a tad frustrating that after a six year career Holy Fuck show no reason why they should be considered as anything other than a great live band.
4. Stay Lit
5. Silva & Grimes
6. SHT MTN
7. Stilletos
8. Lucky
9. Pigs
Toronto’s Holy Fuck have quite a status among music nerds, in part down to their tunes and partly because of their mesmerising live performances. Having personally seen them perform live I can say that it is not an experience you’re likely to forget.
But another reason that people seem to like them is due to their status, where they fall on the music snobs’ radar. It starts with that band you saw supporting your mate’s side project in the pub last week at the bottom, and ends with Radiohead/Animal Collective/Your personal great of choice at the top. Holy Fuck have always seemed to float around the small-medium band mark, always gaining appreciation and adulation from anyone that listens to them or sees them live. They’re a likeable band because of this, but it’s also frustrating that with Latin, their third full length release, they show no signs of declaring themselves electronic heavyweights.
Confusingly, Latin gets off to a strong start. The looming, epic opener of “1MD” genuinely does make you sit back and take stock; it’s certainly not what I thought the first track on the new Holy Fuck album would be like. Instrumental save for a few sinister voices the track builds and builds to an unsettling climax, and just when the noise seems overwhelming, it slides seamlessly into album highlight “Red Lights”, surely the funkiest thing to be released so far this year. Sporting a fiendishly addictive bassline and the kind of off kilter electronics you would associate with the band, it’s the closest Holy Fuck will ever come to writing a song to party to. It’s surprising then that the next track, “Latin America”, was picked to be the first single. It’s not a bad song, but it is quintessentially Holy Fuck. It’s hardly the track you would pick to get your fans psyched up about your return from a three year absence, nor is it the track you’d release as a single to make any new ones. Piano and synth combine to produce the kind of “Experimental” track that your parents could probably get behind.
Throughout the album the bass is the star of the show, skilfully played by...the guy with the beard. Is it? I’m not even sure. I know one of them has a beard. I’m just about sure that there are four of them. One of the big barriers keeping these guys back from the big leagues is a serious lack of personality. I’m not suggesting for a second that we should be advocating style over substance, but come on, there has to be some style, or else it’s boring as holy fuck (pun intended). Granted communicating some sort of personality is going to be harder with largely instrumental music, but their image of faceless wannabe Ocean’s 11 soundtrackers isn’t helped by the likes of “Silvia & Grimes”, offering some instruments, played quite well. “SHT MTN” offers contrast at least, electronics crunching and grinding alongside a robotic vocal to haunting effect. The only other song worth mentioning is the grand “Lucky”, somehow managing to sound inoffensive yet epic at the same time.
Latin is an ok album. There are a few tracks that deserve your attention and without trying to sound condescending, it does make great background music. It’s not going to change the world, but there’s not necessarily anything wrong with that and another spin of “Red Lights” is always good to brighten up your day, it’s just a tad frustrating that after a six year career Holy Fuck show no reason why they should be considered as anything other than a great live band.
No comments:
Post a Comment