Holy State - Electric Picture Palace (Album Review)
Monday, 30 April 2012
Written by Ben Bland
Norfolk quartet Holy State have already announced that they will be splitting up following this album release. As such, it is hard to look at 'Electric Picture Palace' as merely a full- length debut but more what it now effectively is…their entire career on one forty minute
CD.
Things were looking so promising for the band. A support slot with Biffy Clyro on their 2010 arena tour is not something to be sniffed at. They clearly have their fans and friends in high places. Listening to this album however it really is not all that clear why. 'Electric Picture Palace' is far from being a bad record. Despite this, though, it is genuinely unspectacular in almost every way. The songwriting is neat, if perhaps a little clinical. The guitars are sharp in the same style as underrated British greats yourcodenameis:milo pioneered nearly a decade ago. The melodies are all straining to worm their way into your brain, although only half of them really make a noticeable mark. When this album finishes, therefore, it is all a bit non-descript. There really isn’t anything here that hasn’t been heard before.
Perhaps the fact that it is already known that this will be Holy State’s only musical statement is hard to keep from the forefront of the mind when listening to 'Electric Picture Palace', or perhaps it is the fact that it just isn’t particularly exciting, but this is a hard record to want to listen to over and over again. There are plenty of British bands who have trodden the path that Holy State have trodden here and there are plenty who have offered unique, characterful takes on that path as well. To be honest this album sounds like the work of a band who knew their time was up before they even finished writing the songs. It doesn't have much of an edge over the pack. I wish I could be more positive but Holy State will sadly have to go down in the annals of British rock as a band to make up the numbers rather than anything more pertinent.
'Electric Picture Palace' is out now via Brew. Holy State tour the UK for a final time this May.
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Things were looking so promising for the band. A support slot with Biffy Clyro on their 2010 arena tour is not something to be sniffed at. They clearly have their fans and friends in high places. Listening to this album however it really is not all that clear why. 'Electric Picture Palace' is far from being a bad record. Despite this, though, it is genuinely unspectacular in almost every way. The songwriting is neat, if perhaps a little clinical. The guitars are sharp in the same style as underrated British greats yourcodenameis:milo pioneered nearly a decade ago. The melodies are all straining to worm their way into your brain, although only half of them really make a noticeable mark. When this album finishes, therefore, it is all a bit non-descript. There really isn’t anything here that hasn’t been heard before.
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