Listen: Holy Family - "My Kayfabe Babe" [Premiere]

Like Animal Collective and Wolf Parade before them, the boys in Holy Family craft the kind of music that is, at its core, pop. With a basic structure in place, they move to push the limits of simple form as a playground for experimentation. This is well illustrated in the transition from the first half of the song to the second, the track beginning with chilled-out synths and airy vocals somewhat reminiscent of Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) before being dominated by processed wailing and cutting guitars.​

Kayfabe refers to the portrayal of staged events as true. This is a term usually associated with professional wrestling, which can be extended to relationships within that universe. “Very often, participants have other real-life relationships, and the ‘relationship’ between the two is simply a storyline” (Wikipedia, that most useful of resources). It’s not hard to connect the lyrical dots here: “when I tell my friends ‘bout you / they just look at me and laugh the way they always do”.

Under the illusion of kayfabe, what should be heartbreaking becomes romantic. What should be a pop song becomes something very different. Well done.

Holy Family’s debut album Can’t Dance, Won’t Steal, Need Some Help is set for release on 21 July via Melodic Records.