Interview :: Holy Esque

Interview :: Holy Esque
Words: Dave Beech

With only a handful of releases behind them, it seems that Glasgwegian four-piece Holy Esque have struck it lucky. Their self-titled debut EP and subsequent follow-up singles have earned them friends in high places, with the likes of Huw Stephens and 'Q' backing the band for big things. Not only that, but the last two years has seen the band's prominence rise overseas, with notable slots at SXSW and a support slot with The Raveonettes affording the band greater audiences both across the Atlantic, and on the continent. Formed in 2011 at the Glasgow School of Art, Holy Esque have built a solid reputation as one of the most exciting bands to emerge from the independent scene. After spending 2013 performing everywhere from The Great Escape, CMJ, Berlin Music Week and South by Southwest, as well as a guest slot on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury, Holy Esque play London's Shacklewell Arms on March 7 as a warm-up to their return to Austin, Texas for this year's SXSW Festival.

So, with that, and having just released their latest single 'Silences' on February 10, we thought now would be a good time to catch up with frontman Pat Hynes before duty drags him away again.


Holy Esque is a name which obviously has some religious connotations, though presumably how religious those connotations are depends on personal ideology. To me it's about a sense of pseudo-religion, and being too human, too imperfect to ever reach “holy” status. But what does it mean to you as a band? Is this something you were going for, or is it just a name that stuck?

The natural imperfectness of human nature is definitely one of the factors in the genesis of the name. You're on the right lines, but we've always thought it better to leave it open to interpretation so that people can decide for themselves what it truly means. Your point is a great example of this happening.

Again, your logo (a shadow-casting cross) could also be taken to symbolise a darker side to religion. Is this something you wanted to express as a band, or again is it just there for people to take from it what they will?
It doesn't stand to represent a darker side of anything. My answer is vague, but yes, we'd prefer to let people take from it what they will.

You've just released your most recent single, the excellent 'Silences'. What's been the response so far? And after last year's acclaimed EP release, did you feel any pressures to better yourselves as a band?
It's only been out for just over a week now so it's still very early, however, the response has been great so far. In terms of pressure to better ourselves, we've never looked at it that way. I think naturally we have always wanted to push our boundaries as far as humanly possible, and within a band if you put the correct amount of time, I think that will always happen.

Pat's vocals have been compared to the likes of Tom Waits, Kurt Cobain, even Rod Stewart. They've also been deemed a potential “deal breaker for some listeners” by one interviewer a few years ago. How true do you think that is? And how accurate do you think the comparisons have been over the years?
The vocals of any artist or band obviously is a deciding factor in whether or not a person will enjoy their music, however, labelling it a 'deal breaker' is too much of a generalisation in my mind, as music is highly subjective. On the comparisons, of course the role of a music journalist is to better the understanding of the listener so they have an idea of what it is they're getting into. That being said, it's very complimentary to be compared to the likes of Kurt Cobain and I appreciate it, however, I don't feel any of the comparisons have been very accurate.

Similarly, Pat, you've also claimed you once thought you were “fucking weird” and that you couldn't sing. How do you think your vocals have progressed over the two years since that interview was conducted? Have you actively worked on them, or allowed them to form and develop naturally?
I'll be brave and say I think I can sing now! I've actively worked on them in the sense of rehearsing day in day out over the last two years, so naturally they've progressed. Still a bit 'fucking weird' though...

You're about to go in to the studio to record your debut album. Without giving too much away, what can we expect from it?
It's totally blown all my expectations away so I'm not even sure what to say. People should expect something totally new in comparison to our previous work. We've explored a lot of fresh ideas, sounds and elements that we'd never dared too before so it's exciting in that sense. I guess everyone will have to wait and see.

Presumably the last three years have been building up to this record. Were there any pressures to get in the studio and record an album as soon as you had enough material? Or did you always feel that waiting until you had the best set of tracks possible was what you were going to do?
It wasn't a case of pressure to get into the studio as soon as physically possible, more a case of we've been playing all over the world fairly constantly over the past two years, working on our live performance so there's not really been a chance to stop and record all album. Now that time has finally come and the best set of tracks are ready to go.

Being from Glasgow and incorporating elements of shoegaze in to your sound will obviously earn you comparisons to bands such as Glasvegas, you've even used the same producer on your earlier material. How much can this kind of pigeonholing affect a band's creative output? Do you think it's easy to be coaxed in to sounding a certain way because of comparisons and comments in the music press? And how much do you think where you come from affects the inherent sound of a band?
I think pigeonholing like that is very irresponsible for music journalists as it paints a picture to new listeners that they may not want to see. It terms of creative output, I don't think it would or should affect a band in any way as they have supreme control over every move they make; letting comparisons affect your final sound would be ridiculous in my mind. I think the place where you grew up has a massive affect on the core make up of any artist. There are countless elements that you would need to consider. I think with British bands it's definitely more apparent in their sound. For example, its strikingly obvious that The Beach Boys came from California and that Joy Division came from Manchester.

You've played some pretty varied places over the last couple of years from Estonia to SXSW, by way of Glastonbury and a European support slot for The Raveonettes. How do the crowds compare in different parts of the world? Do some people 'get' your sound more than others?

Some crowds are miles ahead in terms of appreciation, whereas some are much more open about their enjoyment. It sounds rather vague though music fans in mainland Europe seem to have a much bigger appetite for live music than anywhere else we've played. For some strange reason people in Germany seem to 'get' our music a lot more than people in France!

You must have a few tour stories to tell, what's been one of the best, or worst, moments for you?
There's a lot of tour stories the best ones weren't meant to be published online, however, one of the worst moments was in New York. We were very much looking forward to this particular show, it had been going great, the crowd was into it, the sound couldn't have been better - until Hugo's - our lead guitarist, amp started making the most unearthly, disgusting feedback you've ever heard. The show was stopped for a massively awkward time until we eventually got it fixed. So we all stumble back on stage in true 'the day is saved' fashion, kick back into another track, we get halfway - and the power blows in the whole room. It was like something out of Spinal Tap. I guess it wasn't meant to be that day.

Finally, we know there's a new album in the works, but have you got any more news or an exclusive you can give our readers?
Aside from the album being out in autumn, we'll have another single out by the summer.

Cheers guys, it's been a pleasure.