Just over two decades ago, Holy Fuck were forged on the musical fringes — and there, ever since, they've stayed. If the inherently inaccessible name wasn't enough, the closest they came to mainstream recognition for years was the "Tom Tom" needle-drop in Amazon's Invincible (up until "Lost Cool" appeared in 2024's The Substance, that is).As such, the experimental Toronto quartet have never had to fret about how many streams they're accumulating, or how many TikTok followers they have to engage with. This band of fearless freaks are in it for the love of the game — and their comeback LP, Event Beat, ensures said love is as strong as ever.Within moments of pressing play, the six years since Deleter have dissipated and you're right back in the groove. "Evie" sees bassist Matt "Punchy" McQuaid lock into a steely, picked-out rhythm against an atonal bleep that sounds like droning tone that follows the person on the other line hanging up the phone, all while founding member Brian Borcherdt shouts reverb-laden poetry into the ether.It's utterly mesmerizing stuff, but Event Beat isn't stopping at just one disco inferno. Across the 11-track effort, the band continue to explore the farthest reaches of their sound spectrum, ranging from the slow-burning spiral of "Elevate" and the incessant, robotic funk of "Czar," through to the hypnotic free-fall of "Gold Flakes" — moored by Matt Schulz's haunting snare drum ghost notes — and the bass-driven shuffle of "Aerosol," which promptly explodes into a classic indie-weirdo wig out that feels akin to starting a noise band with your six or seven roommates in Philly.Whether they're focused on the body or the brain, making you sweatily dance or ponderously reflect, Holy Fuck still know the key entryways into your inner psyche. At a time when most acts of a similar tenure would be content painting by numbers, it's entirely to the band's credit that they're still boldly hurling cans at the canvas. As such, Event Beat is beauty — you just have to have the right eye to behold it.
Wavelength
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