October 17, 2007

{     HOLY FUCK (MP3)     }    

Holy Fuck indeed.
The self-titled release from Toronto's primarily electronic Holy Fuck is one that I've struggled to describe for what seems like ages now. A swath of sound one part hardcore rock force, one part dance music energy, Holy Fuck have a chaotic drive akin to Lightning Bolt, a psych-power similar to what you feel while spacing and building to an Explosions in the Sky album, technique that's palpable and unique as with Battles, and best of all - the ability to move ass. Really. Serious ass moving? Check.

A keyboard and knob-twiddling duo, Graham Walsh and Brian Borcherdt enlist assistance from a rotating rhythm section to create a band whose sound they themselves describe as a "chaotic live celebration of lo-fi noise and weirdo casio-driven rock". Holy Fuck's focus, movement, stomp and attack makes this, their first full-length album, the most live sounding studio album I've heard in a long while. Why? Because they wrote these songs on stage while on tour, only later to come home and pound them out in the studio.

Holy Fuck sound HUGE. They charge out of your speakers. Like how Indiana Jones must have felt with a boulder bearing down on him in Raiders of the Lost Ark, these tracks feel like you're running from a wall of fire in an underground cavern or falling down some kind of electronic pit with cannonballs in your pockets. A psychedelic, organic build that retains an undeniable, mechanical underlying funk. Your pulse will build and your anxiety will boil, but you'll revel in every second of it. No bullshit, I am in love with this album.

     » Order Holy Fuck from Amazon here.
     » Holy Fuck's MySpace
     » Holy Fuck "Echo Sam" (MP3) Update: MP3 link fixed.