Versatile Psychedelic Rock

It’s been a long and twisting path for new Australian indie-pop outfit Holy Holy, who have recently released their debut album When the Storms Would Come. The two founding members, Timothy Carroll and Oscar Dawson, first met as volunteer English teachers working in southeast Asia. Luckily they crossed paths once again after both relocated to Europe. Here, Carroll invited the guitarist, Dawson, to help him out with the songs that he was working on. The two discovered a musical chemistry, and continued to collaborate when they both returned to their native Australia where they released their first single, “Impossible Like You.” Their momentum continued with Carroll and Dawson forming a full live band, adding drums and bass. After a series of sold out shows, Holy Holy have finally released their first record.

When the Storms Would Come kicks off with “Sentimental and Monday,” a spacey affair where a sparse baseline and hip-hop drums meet up with a cascading guitar lick to paint a dimly lit night sky dreamscape. The lyrics sing and speak to the things that are left behind. The chorus “This darkness is nothing but a lack of light / The silence just the sound of night” softly screams sentimentality while also holding onto hope for the sun to rise again tomorrow, and wash away the darkness that Carroll sings about.

According to Carroll, the song that most signifies who Holy Holy is as a band is the sixth track, “You Cannot Call For Love Like a Dog.” The song jumps off with a screaming guitar lick and a strong bass line that follows the driving drum beat speeding throughout the track. The track then goes into a guitar solo that soars, leaping upwards toward a fiery crescendo, and quite possibly the high point of the whole album.

Sometimes long journeys yield the greatest rewards, and this album is a strong example of that. Whether Holy Holy is playing something fast paced and full of strong sound like “You Cannot Call For Love Like a Dog,” or more silently, going psychedelic like they do on “Sentimental and Monday” the listener is sure to be pleased. And if this album is any barometer for future efforts, the future can only hold more success for this young Australian band.