Glaswegian quartet Holy Esque’s debut album, At Hope’s Ravine, proves why this post-punk band are ones to watch. Combining gritty, textured vocals with whining guitars and electro-pop inspired keyboard, their sound is one which is almost unrivalled in the current indie music scene.
With echoes of Mogwai, Interpol, Chvrches and Joy Division, Holy Esque are driven by Pat Hyne’s inimitable vocals, which he describes as a “beast” that he uses to “gain greater emotional leverage” in his music. The album has been described by critics as primal and muscular, containing a force of nature that sounds like a hurricane which rips into the all-too-rigid genre-specifics of the current underground music scene. It’s textured, impassioned and embellished with synthesisers, and while opening track ‘Prism’ may sound like a fairly generic, dark indie-punk song, the album really opens up into an successfully experimental record as it progresses.
The second track of the album, ‘Rose’, was Holy Esque’s debut single back in 2012, the single that made them blow up on the internet and gain a following from across the globe. A personal favourite track from the album, ‘Rose’ has a distinctive electro-pop vibe created by the twanging reverberation on the guitars and melodic vocals, but the grittiness of Hyne’s voice keeps the track grounded in the band’s post-punk roots. The bridge is undoubtedly the best part of the track – led into by coarse effects on the guitar’s simple chord sequence and followed by repetitive lyrics and a throbbing drum beat, the bridge is anthemic, capturing, and will definitely be stuck in your head all day.
Third track ‘Hexx’ is the band’s most recent single, and is one of the more accessible tracks on the album. It is powered by the melodic combination of electric guitar and keyboard, with a cymbal-heavy drum beat, overlayed by passionate vocals, making the track a real mis-match of musical styles. This cacophony shows why Holy Esque stand out as musicians in the current indie scene: this combination, if attempted by a less talented, less cohesive band, would sound like the musical equivalent of two wrong puzzle pieces being forced together. However, Holy Esque get the combination of digestible electro-pop and emotional post-punk so right, expertly making the two genres flow together in a way that isn’t always possible.
This theme of intertwining initially opposing genres is present throughout the album. Fifth track ‘Silences’ is a funky yet angsty track that makes you both want to dance and start a mosh pit, while ‘Tear’ has an intro not unlike one that could be heard on a Swim Deep record, which juxtaposes with Hynes’ vocals to create a multi-faceted, textured sound.
Shimmering and galvanic, At Hope’s Ravine is a bold statement of the band’s life to date. “These are songs about belonging, fear, love, self-doubt, dreams, religion, release, darkness versus life and escape – especially escape,” says frontman Hynes, and this mood is certainly conveyed in lyrics which uncompromisingly cover a range of topics. ‘Doll House’ is a track that connects with two other Holy Esque songs, following the wretched tale of a prostitute who falls off the track and is eventually murdered in ‘Oslo’, while ‘St’ is rich with religious imagery and “portrays a character that loses everything around him through an actual fear of loss itself, which in turn, results in bitter tragedy.” Holy Esque aren’t just a pretty sound: they create music which tackles gritty and difficult topics in lyrical narratives.
At Hope’s Ravine is released on Holy Esque’s own label Beyond The Frequency on 26th February 2016, and is a debut collection that transcends musical boundaries and the restrictions of genre. It might take a few listens to really grasp the power of this album: at first it may seem like a bewildering puzzle of sound and a ‘love-or-hate’ vocal style, but eventually it will grab you with an ingenuity that not enough young bands possess. Just go with it, and it will reward you.
At Hope’s Ravine is available from today on iTunes, Amazon, and in Holy Esque’s online merch store, and you can catch them on their UK tour from February until May.
Words by Rachael Davis.