Holding Absence - Afterlife

Goodness me, is that the time? Friday, already? The working week really does fly by when you’re having fun, and also when you class getting to trawl through the archives for great music every single week as work. Now, before you pity me so hard that your salty tears drown us both, there are downsides. The cage isn’t particularly comfortable, and every time someone takes the wire version of Lemmy away, I get really sad. Lots of peanuts to eat, though, so there’s that.

Sorry, lost my train of thought there. Back on track, if Holding Absence are new to you, you’re in for a treat. The Welsh collective have a decade under their belts, along with three full-length studio full length efforts, and seem to be going from strength to strength. Their post-hardcore blends melodic elements with the raw fury of the pre-post-hardcore (the kids call it hardcore, I believe), giving a best of both worlds approach that’s as brutal as it is thought-provoking, like lying down on a lovely soft pillow after getting windmilled in the face in a crowded pit. While melodic post-hardcore might divide the purists and the curious, Holding Absence seem to have it down to a fine science. Afterlife is simply a cracking track that will beat you over the head first and make you ask introspective questions later, all the while without straying too far from the roots. Speaking of hitting you over the head, the drum mix in this one? Oooft, it’s like the sticks are coming out of the speakers in 3D. It’s glorious. 

That’s the wind-up, now buckle up for the swing. This is a Rock Song of the Week pick that pulls very few punches and clips you around the ear with the other hand when it does - when you’ve recovered, feel free to come back next week for another one, yeah? We’re gluttons for punishment, we really are. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a button to press that might give me some more peanuts if it doesn’t electrocute me again.