Holy Holy have welcomed their ever-expanding fanbase into August with the release of their third album, My Own Pool Of Light. The record builds on the avenues explored in the band’s sophomore record Paint (2016), throws back to the foundations established in their debut When The Storms Will Come (2014), and yet still manages to soar triumphantly as a distinctly new work that expands Holy Holy’s accessibility and appeal.
The band approached My Own Pool Of Light differently, taking control over all stages of its construction. Tim Carroll (lead singer and founding member alongside Oscar Dawson) divulged, “I wanted to write songs that really meant something on this album, that really had something at the core of why it was being written. Each song was trying to say something.” The production style of My Own Pool Of Light is distinct from their previous two LPs with the band incorporating synths and drums machines together with distorted guitars and booming drum kits, to craft a sound that will please even the most intense audiophiles.
The diverse instrumentation has let the band craft some dynamic genre-bending transitions within tracks, such as Starting Line and People which start as early-2000s Moby-like grooves but finish as psych-rock drum-fill riddled masterpieces which would feel at home on Tame Impala’s Lonerism.Paired with this dynamic production is Carroll’s poetic lyricism, which takes you on a journey that can’t be expressed using the usual simple descriptors; the only way to truly capture the essence of the record is to delve into the strong narrative which continues to draw new emotions after every listen.
The opening tracks of the album introduce us to Carroll’s innermost struggles. In Faces, we hear him battle to maintain optimism and personal integrity in the pressures of romantic and familiar relationships; the synth-driven Maybe You Know and the dynamic Sandra help us delve deeper into his pain. However, in the back half of the album Carroll guides us through his personal development. In Teach Me About Dying he discovers solace through suffering, and then he closes the album by finally revelling in a healthy relationship in St. Petersburg, a track which is reminiscent of Holy Holy’s mellower debut When The Storms Will Come (2014).
My Own Pool Of Light occasionally diverges away from this heavily intimate narrative to shed light on Tim and Oscar’s uncertainties and fears over the future of our society. The track Flight emotionally attacks the current government’s treatment of refugees with unnerving pitch shifted vocals that allude to often silenced voices and perspectives. People engrosses listeners in a passionate tale of love, encouraging us to find ‘our own pool of light’ in a civilisation that is falling apart. The album’s penultimate track Frida tackles the gender disparity in our society through Tim’s personal anxieties surrounding his daughter. This venture into political writing is new for the band, and evidences a welcome maturity in their writing.
This new album is a must-listen for all fans of sonically impressive music grounded in digestible yet passionate lyricism. My Own Pool Of Light also prefaces an impressive national tour for Holy Holy, whose live shows are renowned for their busyness and energy, and are sure to sell out quickly.
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Holy Holy National Tour 2019
Friday, 12 July Festival Of Voices, The Odeon, Hobart
Thursday 12 September Villa Noosa, Noosaville QLD
Friday 13 September Kingscliff Beach Hotel, Kingscliff NSW
Saturday 14 September The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD
Thursday 19 September Mt Pleasant Tavern, Mackay QLD
Friday 20 September Magnums, Airlie Beach QLD
Saturday 21 September Dalrymple Hotel, Townsville QLD
Sunday 22 September Edge Hill Tavern, Cairns, QLD
Friday 27 September The Gov, Adelaide, SA
Saturday 28 September Astor Theatre, Perth WA
Sunday 29 September The River, Margaret River WA
Thursday 17 October Uni Bar, Wollongong NSW
Friday 18 October Roundhouse, Sydney NSW
Saturday 19 October The Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle NSW
Friday 1 November Torquay Hotel, Torquay VIC
Saturday 2 November Forum, Melbourne VIC
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