Holy Other - Held
- Written by Joe Bates
Independent labels always have a unifying thread, something that brings together a group of artists of a particular sound or ethos. These threads are sometimes difficult to ascertain: Warp, for instance, champion pogoing Northeast funsters Maximo Park at the same time as LA’s jazzy beatmaker Flying Lotus. Sometimes, however, they are easy to ascertain, and in the case of New York’s Tri Angle records, it’s less of a thread and more of a very sturdy rope. The label’s artists mine such similar sonic territory, where spectral, melodramatic voices haunt traditional song structures, it wouldn’t be surprising to find out half of its output was the work of one depressive workaholic. Whether electronica – Balam Acab, Clams Casino – or more traditional – How To Dress Well – you can tell a Tri Angle artist a mile off. And with a large roster pursuing that sound, as well as one artist on another label who pops up every now and again to prove he’s also pretty nifty with that particular sound, distinguishing yourself is not a walk in the park.
One method is to be really good at it, and Holy Other’s debut album Held, out this week, is really good at it. A fairly traditional, straightforward album, albeit with vocal duties handled by fleeting ghostly voices, it shows throughout the sheer resonance that can be achieved through simple ideas. It could be the high production values helping it reach its mood of haunted desolation in a way that few other artists manage. It could also be the inventive song structures: whereas Clams Casino, for instance, packs these moods into rapper-friendly forms, Holy Other’s tracks ebb and flow into multiple distinct sections, making each track different despite employing similar tools. Whatever it is, it amounts to the strongest single statement of Tri-Angle’s sound so far. What it sounds like certainly won’t surprise anyone who heard the promising With U EP last year, but how much it builds on this potential very well might.
The strongest tracks on Held will rank amongst the year’s best. ‘Love Some1’ builds oppressive sadness with layer upon layer of whooshing synths and vocals until the song breaks under the weight of it all, releasing the refrain of the repeated title. ‘Tense Past’ sounds like The Field to begin with, but the vocal elevates the track to another level, growing more and more pained as the track gathers momentum. The title track finally allows some light in eight tracks into the album as the mood finally lifts with grand, euphoric piano chords, a beautiful redemption. The closer ‘Nothing Here’ continues the sense of narrative by having the writhing vocals sad again, but with a more hopeful backing, suggesting a degree of resolution for the tortured voices that inhabit Holy Other’s songs.
The highlights are obvious but it’s a very cohesive album, with even the lesser tracks adding to the mood and drive. Not everyone might be enamoured with it – it’s a very simple sound and style that Holy Other employs. Specifically, it is a clear variation on a sound that some might say Burial has already perfected, finding emotion and feeling through creative use of mainstream, often mundane vocal samples and employing them to create otherworldly atmospheres. But the similarities are somewhat superficial: the pace of Held and the synth-heavy sound create a dirge-like feeling different to the nostalgia that marks out Burial’s work. There’s no doubting there is an influence present, but this album brings something markedly different to the formula.
Perhaps the sound has its limitations, and perhaps Holy Other will struggle to make another album using the same tools. This album is short, at nine tracks and 35 minutes, and you get the impression any more might have seen some cracks appearing. Any potential lack of mileage, however, doesn’t make any difference to the quality of Held as an album on its own terms. It is a brilliant, moody debut, one that serves both as a fantastic representation of an aesthetic and as one which takes that aesthetic into new places. And, if Holy Other can produce such an unexpectedly whole and impressive record out of such a well-worn sound, then there’s no reason why he can’t keep on progressing and take his ghostly sounds into even more new territories.