Album Review :: HOLY - Stabs

HOLY

Stabs

March 11 2015 (PNKSLM Recordings / Ny Våg Records)

8/10

Words: Leanne Crowley

After touring extensively in Scandinavia and releasing an EP in December, HOLY, the Swedish quintet and the birthchild of Hannes Ferm, finally unveil their debut full-length. The 13-track offering shocks into life with a 30-second pure noise intro before mellowing into ‘The Holy Show'. The plucked guitar intro immediately springs the listener straight to California and the surfer-style psych is apparent. Melodic vocals, repetitive guitar riffs and the persistent drumbeat work in harmony and this is an enjoyable and easy listening experience; the added noise in places increasing the intensity.

‘Silver of your Heart' brings strong vocals to the forefront of the track and the almost off-key tone will resonate with psychedelic listeners everywhere. This is a feel-good music and as the album progresses into ‘Demon's Hand' an Allah-Lah's esque product is resonating loudly.

The stand-out track of the album comes in ‘Get By' with its relentless energy and the guitar repetition drives the track through, hints of garage rock shine strongly. The feeling of breathlessness is rising as the album pulsates through each track. ‘Lights' offers echoed vocals which add a different feel to its predecessors and the bassline is more predominant. A dreamy quality prevails and the track floats through nicely straight into ‘Clouds', the longest track of the 13. Guitar screeches are added and the overall volume increased; here we have less melody, and more raw power. Keys dominate here and the switch to this back to guitar and vocals is so subtle that it's only when the elements are delineated you can see what has happened.

‘Rooftops' provides a tapped drum opening and a different overall feel once more. Strong hints of 60s psych shine through as the track rolls along rhythmically, playing with a number of techniques and pushing the boundaries as it does so. ‘Golden Fog' offers the popular pop sound recognisable in the work of The Drums and is a nicely blended pop-psych track, and yet doesn't fit neatly into either category. HOLY are following in the footsteps of fellow Scandinavians Shiny Darkly with the way they have fused the two genres.

‘No Horror' is louder and more insistent and hosts a different guitar sound, altering the mood of the track forcefully. It's hard to focus on one thing in this one as there is so much going on and vying for attention. ‘Who's Got a Black Tongue?' ties up the album with a sample to begin with before mellowing out to a close.

As debut offerings go, HOLY present a very exciting prospect. The intensity displayed within makes it hard to believe that this is a home recorded album, and the way it flits between three key genres and fuses them perfectly make for an overall exciting listening experience.