Holograms
Surrender (2017)
eatdogs
There was a Post-Punk revival that happened in the early
part of the 2000’s. Often mixed with the whole Garage Rock revival thing at the
same time, several bands with long hair, which people thought of as “new
looking” and dirty clothes that were probably expensive, but they didn’t want
you to know that, came about. Oh, and they often were a simple one word name
with “The” stuck in front, but do not confuse them with the wonderful UK band
The The.
Yes, The The…
I guess the total emergence that seemed to blend it all
together was the Strokes and how they sorta came out of nowhere, like from the
sewers of NYC where they recorded their debut album Is This It, which actually reminds me right now of the movie C.H.U.D..
And you know how it goes, time passes and people forget,
bands break up, sophomore slumps, modeling or films with the moody looking
guitar player, terrible electronic music gets introduced, etc. Anyway, yeah
that all happened in that first decade of the new millennium, but there were
some exceptions that should be mentioned. Boxer
by The National is exceptional as well as Turn
on the Bright Lights by Interpol and Bows
Arrows by The Walkmen. Perhaps you could also toss in that first Bloc
Party album if you would like. However, once past 2010 who cared?
Things settled down, which was good because the entire
hubbub over what people thought of as “The next big thing” almost killed a
blossoming idea. I honestly really liked the Post-Punk revival because it
introduced me to the bands that came before in that genre. I despised the
Garage Rock thing though and I thought that this one band called Jet were one
of the most awful acts I have ever heard in my life. Regardless, it was cool
and that was that.
Where are we are now?
There is an upswing in decent acts coming from oversees who
are carrying the torch for Post-Punk and the music they are creating is
harkening back to the more moody aspects of it. Iceage were an earlier one who
sparked off a smaller second wave and right now, as I type this, a band called
Holograms dethrones them.
2017 has been all over the place for good music, but for me,
the Holograms third album Surrender
is a serious contender for album of the year. This is quite an achievement
because I took glances at their earlier material and they had a good sound and
ferocity that was youthful and vigorous, but just not enough to get me to pay
closer attention to that material. Moreover, I will be truthful and say that Surrender is the first album I have heard
from the band.
A site I frequent for vinyl news (https://slyvinyl.com/) has a statement written
by contributing Editor David Hampton that says:
“Holograms continue to hike through the canals of early 80s Goth and
Post Punk, but their production techniques continue to expand to new and
exciting heights. The vocals are dead
ringers for Pornography-era Robert Smith, but they lacerate the layers of rich
guitar reverb and buzzing synths with the kind of studio finesse that was not
around in 1983.”
I took that notion serious and heard the song “Shame” from
the album, which has a music video to accompany it. First time I heard the band
with virgin ears. Vocals come forth, they are not really that great I thought,
but the pace, and throwback to perhaps something like early Gang of Four was
dazzling. The drumming in particular was spectacular. Oh, and then the song
ends with the same sounding chords as the song “Ceremony” by Joy Division/New
Order. That right there got me hooked in the mouth, so I dug deeper.
Clocking just a bit over 40 minutes in length, Surrender is a treat to hear because it
is so good and you do not expect it to be. Perhaps this is just my jaded way of
thinking about today’s music, but I often doubt everything that’s new, which
everyone should know by now as I’m a curmudgeon when it comes to new skool
drool. But holy cow, this is awesome!
As for that Cure reference stated above, listen to the songs
“Amor Fati” and “Simulacrum”. You would think that this is the Cure because it sounds so close to Robert Smith’s
darkest side. I will not knock the band for doing that either. It is a changeup
and it’s warranted here because they could not keep doing the same thing
repeatedly.
The studio production is great and doesn’t overcompensate
for lack of creativity as mentioned. Instrumental opener “I Begynnelsen” is all
synths and not entirely on the level as something like the beauty of the Cures’
“Plainsong” or Joy Divisions’ “Atmosphere”, but its simplicity is welcoming and
almost jarring because it is just about the most “out there” track on the
entire album. It fits, and yet it does not…
“Ikaros” jumps off the opener with a chorus of swelling
vocals dubs that feels like it could fill an arena. The Guitars blend well with
the synths, but the drumming is a key figure here as well as on the rest of the
album. It just sounds massive. This carries on to third track “Shame”, but also
on more somber sounding numbers like “Any Day Now” which has a droning
thud-thud sound before erupting into a full band explosion with bleeding
guitars and thunderous bass. Sick track man.
I’ll declare the album highlight as track six “Hammarby Hill”.
After hearing this the first time it made me stop what I was doing and just pay
attention to it. It then stuck in my head for days and I was humming it to
myself without knowing the words by heart. In a very weird way, it reminds me
of David Gilmour when he was singing on Pink Floyd’s last album Division Bell, but crossed with Smith’s
desperation and longing… Yikes!
Hyperbole can be a death note for an artist when it is just
shameful promotion and doesn’t hold up, but when I take a chance on something
new, and it really takes hold, I will spout praise as much as I can. This album
is truly wonderful and I cannot recommend it enough.
Get in on this and dig it!