HOLDING ABSENCE
The Greatest Mistake Of My Life
SHARPTONE
Welsh metalcore upstarts make a seismic yet sentimental shift
HOLDING ABSENCE HAVE always been outliers in British metalcore. The youngsters may have come up sharing stages with Loathe and Our Hollow, Our Home, but they always owed as much to The Cure as they did to Architects. Their thread of standalone singles juxtaposed shotgun metal snare drums with unabashed emo flair, shimmering via titanic pop choruses, soaring vocals and love-orientated lyricism.
The eponymous debut album saw that formula reach an apotheosis thanks to its mix doesn’t perform the usual second-album duty of refining a sound; rather, it marks its creators’ first crucial transformation. Inspired by 80s indie and shoegaze, this follow-up is a platter of evocative pop that rejects all hallmarks of the scene Holding Absence emerged from. Ashley Green’s percussion doesn’t have quite the same ear-splitting loudness as before, with the mix giving prominence to Lucas Woodland’s everengrossing clean singing. This rejigging makes the album feel like a creative unshackling, placing a mightier emphasis on one key fact: Holding Absence are impeccable hit writers.
