Some clanging, cacophonous noise! What a racket!
Sweden's Holograms are set to drop their self-titled debut on Captured Tracks on 10 July (9 July in Europe) and it's a rocking record.
"ABC City", with its Sham 69-meets-O.M.D. unrealness, kicks things off in fine fashion. Throbby and shouty, the cut percolates and thumps with abandon.
"Monolith" is the sound of a football hooligan ruining Elastica's record collection, a buzzsaw going over the Joy Division singles with the Killing Joke ones next.
On the marvelous "Chasing My Mind" the band uses a warm keyboard line over their unique Buzzcocks-style of punk rock to create something that's oddly dance-y. In what weird past would this have been a hit?
The Joy Division-isms get heavier on "Memories of Sweat" where Holograms come on like Editors with an axe to grind.
"Apostate" with its Christian Death-style title is closer to The Birthday Party with a crunchy riff dominating proceedings.
"Stress", with its crazy-ass keyboard ring, pounds its way into a listener's head in a rapid fashion.
No more going one-by-one. Just buy the album and you'll see what I mean. If the cuts start to blend into each other -- there's not a lot of variety there -- that's okay as this record kicks and rocks. Fans of the first flourishing of postpunk would be wise to find this record and play it often.
Holograms by Holograms is out on 09/10 July on Captured Tracks depending on your region.
Follow the band on their Facebook page here.
