Kiss The Prime Minister With That Mouth?
Holy Fuck
Holy Fuck
(Dependent)
In a lot of ways, Holy Fuck’s debut album begs to be attacked. Ignore the stupid name, and focus instead on the we’re-so-indie-it-hurts decision to forgo making electronic music with the genre’s usual high-end technology, and use live drums and kitschy, toy store keyboards and percussion. Be sure to stamp “Made In Toronto” on everything you own, and voila! You’re too school for cool.
Of course, being card-carrying indie rockers, Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh anticipated this reaction, which goes back to why they named they band what they did, etc., etc. — the cycle continues. They also built in a reportedly ferocious live show, winning them the admiration of touring partner/Warp Records star Beans, in turn giving them enough press clippings to sashay their way into indie’s class of up-and-comers. (Disclaimer: to prove we don’t believe everything we read, some writer in their clippings asserts they’re a “Canadian response to Kraftwerk and The Prodigy,” as if Canadians have been thinking long and hard on how to respond idiomatically.)
To Holy Fuck’s credit, they never get cute despite the hardware in which they invested over eight songs and 50 minutes. The meaty, cymbal-heavy drums provide a primal counterpoint to some pretty minimal melodic work and pseudo-industrial doomsday techniques. Consider yourself still free to hate at will, though.
— Steve Forstneger
Appearing: January 19 at Empty Bottle with Arks and Rain Delay Theatre.
