Holy - Stabs

HOLY

"Stabs"

Release date: 09 March 2015

8/10

13 March 2015, 11:30 | Written by Jessica Goodman

(Albums)

(HOLY)

Flooded with lo-fi aesthetics, garage sensibilites, and soaring psychadelia, the debut LP from HOLY has finally arrived - and with it, an unparalleled appreciation for the Swedish quintet. Led by Umeå-native Hannes Ferm, the group have forged one of the most hypnotisingly immaculate records you're likely to hear this year.

Introduced with a track of distortion and feedback, Stabs is a chronicle of its own creation. Crafted to precision, the album is as complete as they come: a thirty-seven minute journey through Ferm's eyes and mind.

The brilliantly named "The Holy Show" kickstarts the album properly. Subverting its own format with reverb-doused refrains, blazing riffs, and distinctively obscured vocals, the number serves as an uptempo theme tune - the perfect introduction. Delectably tongue-in-cheek, the song paves the way for two of the band's strongest songs to date.

Eponymous EP track "Silver Of Your Heart" and lead album cut "Demon's Hand" are the calibre of which has already seen the group list Dennis Lyxzén (Refused) and Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) amongst their admirers. But it's in the tracks that follow that HOLY really showcase what they're made of.

"Lights" is a hazily dazed highlight. Harmonious "ooh-la-la"s shine through the darkened refrains like a beacon through fog until the percussion pummels you in your temples and the whole band let loose in a cacophonous explosion of raw refrains. "Clouds" phases into existence with the most deliriously electric of guitar riffs, as ear-splitting as it is sprawling, dipping in and out as Ferm's vocals take over and renounce control.

"The Knife" is another focal point, the weapon that stabs the record permanently into your heart. Chiming refrains dance brightly alongside Ferm's echoing vocals, lulling you into the track's rhythm and delicate grooves, before building and expanding to nausiating brilliance - a drop you can feel right to the pit of your stomach, straight into the meandering rhythms of the songs start.

"Golden Fog" first saw release on HOLY's Silver Of Your Heart EP, and loses none of its enthralling magic here. Blinding guitar refrains and reverberating vocals drive through a mix of contagious drumbeats and swirling refrains. "Who's Got A Black Tongue" is another standout, unwinding and reclining towards the albums close with a dream-infused ease.

With this record, HOLY are showcasing the sheer sonic power they have at their disposal. From the musical savantry of Hannes Ferm through the ingenuity of the band behind him, for HOLY, all we can do is praise.