You've heard of people with split personalities, yeah? Normally it manifests itself as two separate people, personalities that tend to be polar opposites. Well, I think David Holmes has something of the split personality about him. Except it's more complicated than just two different sides. This particular Irishman has the ability to turn himself to just about anything and make a success out of it. From his much admired DJ mixes and nights to his very successful career as creator of film scores. Then there's his much more straight forward solo adventures, crafting albums that fuse all these different activities into one piece. The Holy Pictures is said to be his most personal record to date, an album he's been wanting to make for 14 years, since the death of his mother. And it might be his best effort yet. Ditching most of the complex cut and splice techniques he usually uses to create music, this feels like an album that's been made by a band. Sure, there's plenty of clever studio trickery and electronica going on, but it feels much more organic and "real". The entire album is shrouded in the feel of late 90's shoegaze. The influence of My Bloody Valentine and Ride hang heavy here along with Primal Scream circa Vanishing Point. Holmes has created some kind of dreamy, alternative location for this album. It has the ability to transport you away from the here and now to somewhere altogether more ethereal and spiritual. But then, given the name and theme of the album, that shouldn't come as a surprise.The album is pretty evenly split between vocal heavy pieces and instrumentals. It's the latter that give the album it's dreamy quality. 'Theme / I.M.C' floats over gentle drums before more skittish beats kick in over Holmes' trademark keyboards. 'Story of the Ink' is much more sinister with its tropical beats and dirty guitar that feels as though it's drenched in heartache. 'Kill Her with Kindness' also has some a bit more considered about it, a heavy rumbling of discontent maybe, but features some ghostly vocals of it which make it sounds like a song from a long lost horror movies.It's on these more lyrical driven pieces where Holmes falls down slightly. Lyrics, I don't think, are his particular strong point. They feel a little forced and are pretty forgettable, it's really only the music that sticks in your mind once the album has finished. There's also a feeling that the second half of the album fails to live up to the initial creative onslaught. It's almost as though Holmes falls back on more tried and tested formulas. 'Melanie' sounds like something that would have turned up on his previous "band" effort Bow Down to the Exit Sign, whilst the closing track feels very cinematic, and almost carbon copy of something he used to close Ocean's 11.A bit of a mixed bag then, but this is a collection of songs that actually DO feel very personal and, at times, spiritual. It's always hard opening up something like this for the whole world to see and hear. But, as with everything else David Holmes turns his hand to, this is an entertaining, and sometimes surprising, listen. 79%David Holmes on Myspace