Dive Into the Paranormal

Texas psych-rock quintet Holy Wave are back with their third LP, Adult Fear, released by Reverberation Appreciation Society (with a cassette co-release on Burger Records). Their third LP continues the group’s dreamy, synth-driven psych-rock sound, adding catchy new tunes to their repertoire.

The album opens with “Nation In Regress,” with a retro, ’70s inspired tune and shimmering keys arpeggios that being the listener’s journey into Adult Fear. “How Was I Supposed to Know” continues on this path with reverb-heavy guitar chords that will have the listener swaying to the carefree tune. The instrumental outro showcases more echoing organ-like piano. “Habibi” begins primarily as an instrumental, featuring two guitar lines, one ascending and descending as the sound crescendoes. The longest track on the album at eight minutes, “Habibi” leaves room to play around in this jam. The keys join in, creating a leading line that leads abruptly into a new jam in which the vocals are added. “Dixie Cups” is also pleasantly repetitive, remaining at one soft level of intensity, with just a slight melody.

Like “How Was I Supposed to Know,” “David’s Flowers” starts off with dreamy arpeggios, but adds in a pleasing guitar lick that makes the song stand out. The song is also one of the few on the album that features a guitar solo. Towards the end of the song, Holy Wave also mix up the downbeat as seen in some of their previous hits like “Western Playland” off Freaks of Nurture. 

But the standout track of the LP is the album titled “Adult Fear,” which features driving drums and synths that give one the feeling of going on a nighttime driving adventure. The music video released to accompany the song shows paranormal nighttime activity in the band’s motel room and features the band playing and driving in black and white. The synths and dark chords and melodies certainly add to the dark, paranormal effect the video achieves.

While Adult Fear certainly shares its’ own highlights, Freaks of Nurture was certainly a solid album to follow up to. Most of the songs off the new album blend together in sound, failing to stand out amongst each other to be played as a continuous journey, unlike Freaks of Nurture which has a plethora of standout tracks that are each worthy of being repeated. Still a notable follow up, Adult Fear is a perfect choice for a nighttime excursion.