Holy Fuck : Latin

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/holyfucklatin.jpg" alt=" " />The most important rule of the music industry is to let the music speak for itself, an fortunately for listeners, it does just that on...
7.5 Hand Drawn Dracula
2010 

Holy Fuck : Latin Holy Fuck stepped onto the international stage in a rather unconventional way.  While the vast majority of musicians spend most of their years, and more of their savings, trying in vain to accomplish this feat, the Toronto based four-piece were conversely propelled into the spotlight.  The reason?  The experimental rockers – and more specifically the “lewd nature” of their band name – were namedropped by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, while defending massive budget cuts that his conservative government had made to arts funding.  Despite having built up a very respectable following before this, Holy Fuck’s fan base grew exponentially overnight.  Left-thinking minds in Canada and abroad resisted against what was essentially government censorship, and Brian Borcherdt, Graham Walsh, Matt McQuaid, and Matt Schulz became the soundtrack to liberal thought in Canada.  The Polaris Prize/Juno nominated album and handful of international hit singles that followed only go to show that the most important rule of the music industry is to let the music speak for itself.  Fortunately for listeners, the music does just that on the band’s latest album, 2010’s Latin.

One of the best things about the electronica genre, is that you can tell within seconds what a song is about, whether you love it, hate it, where it’s been, and where it’s going.  Looking at an album as a whole, though, is quite a different story.  While Latin opens epically with the synth powered build up that is “MD”, the song simply levels off into funky electro groove number “Red Lights”.  That track makes way for the album’s lead single, “Latin America”, and the driving haze pop entrances as the nine-song effort refuses to be narrowly categorized.  While no song shines quite as bright as “Lovely Allen” did on Holy Fuck’s last record, the admirable mix of percussion, distortion, and resilience make the dark, dreamlike confines of “Stay Lit” stand out more than anything else on Latin.  Meanwhile, the bubbly melody of “Silva and Grimes” showcases a slightly less dark, though equally enjoyable side of the band.  While essentially known for being broad, the band’s broadness can be at times overarching in the album’s later minutes.  “SHT MTN” and “P.I.G.S.” sail in and out of the rough waters of electro overload, but thankfully, some late power pop proficiency steers the ship back on the right course on “Stilettos”.  Though not quite the epic that “MD” seemed to be ramping into, Latin‘s unconventionality proves to be an excellent second choice as Holy Fuck continues their dominance of the experimental genre.

MP3 Stream: “Stay Lit”

{audio}/mp3/files/Holy Fuck – Stay Lit.mp3{/audio}

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