Nebular Wave/Holy Fuck
Nebular Wave
Chicxulub // Saw-whet Records
Named after the impact crater that may have led to the extinction of dinosaurs, Chicxulub marks the return of Edmonton’s Nebular Wave with a big bang. The album playfully mixes elements of krautrock, kosmische, prog rock and experimental music into a record that could serve as an alternate soundtrack to a sci-fi film.
The 20+ minute title track is the guiding force of the album and beautifully reflects the bands sound palette. The brooding nine-minute soundscape would feel completely at home as an alternate score to the iconic opening heist scene in Michael Mann’s “Thief” as James Caan, a professional safecracker attempts to open a vault with his power tools in the dark rainy night. That film was scored by Tangerine Dream and a lot of that influence can be seen on Chicxulub as well. Nebular Wave’s music simultaneously bubbles with beauty and tension; in those nine minutes after which it explodes into an alternate universe as the motorik beat is introduced providing a steady tensile force under which the synthesizers, guitars and bass are allowed to express their feelings. Elsewhere on tracks such as “Sickness X-1”, the trio is more playful and laid back with lush saxophones and modulating prog rockesque synth lines. The closer, “Lamenting Hour”, brings the record full circle as Nebular Wave slowly heighten the tension once again before reaching a truly satisfying crescendo. I’ve always felt that Edmonton needed a krautrock group and it’s great to see Nebular Wave fill that void.
- Piyush Patel
Holy Fuck
Deleter // Last Gang
15 years removed since their first LP, Holy Fuck continue with their latest effort Deleter, proving that with every release, they are able to push and evolve their sound to new bounds. Many of the tracks on Deleter take a more mainstream approach in their structures compared to past Holy Fuck records, making it feel like they’ve pieced them together with a greater sense of purpose, relying less on riffing on a singular jam.
With album opener “Luxe”, Holy Fuck glide on a synth line while Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor declares “I’d like to scrap all of it and start over again.” The declaration almost a foreshadowing of what to expect from the rest of the album. While the record isn’t a far cry from past work it is certainly an evolution of a veteran band that continues to stay fresh and relevant. The track was originally shaped out of an improvised jam during an encore at a show in Luxembourg and was recorded at Jack White’s Third Man Records. Alexis Taylor’s feature is appropriate on the track as his voice glides comfortably, reminiscent of Hot Chip’s thicker tracks. The track contains an extremely dense build that progressively incorporates multiple textures over top of one another to drop the track into a highly dancecable trance with Taylor’s contemplative vocals repeating “I’d like to scrap all of it and start over again.” An album highlight.
Liars’ Angus Andrew features on the title track “Deleter”. Providing vocals, Angus Andrew’s provides a feeling that the song had been written with his voice in mind as it is musically reminiscent to recent Liars material. Andrew’s repeated line throughout is the hookiest melody on the album and a sure earworm.
While Holy Fuck stay true to their dance and electronic roots throughout Deleter, tracks “Endless” and” Near Mint,” display more psych based influences. Both ride on spaced out airy vocals and rely on a sense of reverberated lightness while taking on more traditional structures. The peaks in lushness and euphoria reached in the textures of both songs are arguably unrivalled in past Holy Fuck music.
Even though they indulge on an array of new sounds on Deleter, like the dissonance of the twistedly trippy track “San Sebastian,” or the monotone spoken word throughout the intro of “Ruby,” Holy Fuck still dig deep to satisfy the dance craving so crucial to their music. “Moment,” the albums most dynamic track, flutters between the albums heaviest and most playful points betweens its builds and drops. The song boasts the records most indulgent climax leaving listeners clenching their fists and jaws to the beat. “Free Gloss” features vocals from Pond’s Nicholas Albrook, and sits a lot lighter than “Moment,” but never loses its dance element with a chimey synth line inducing thoughts of the sights and sounds of an arcade.
Deleter is the result of piecing together improvised jams from live sets, soundchecks and encores, a process that found Holy Fuck split time in multiple studios from Brooklyn, the Catskills, rural Ontario and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. When put all together, they have produced one of their best records fifteen years into their career, a feat not many bands can say.
- Kennedy Pawluk
