Album Review: Holy Tongues - 'Weak People'

28 August 2014 | 5:02 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

A defined debut that could use some colour.

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For those people who are familiar with Holy Tongues demo (the only recordings they had until this debut) you will be pleased to know that most of the songs from that release have been re-recorded and given a more produced and polished treatment for their debut full length, 'Weak People.' Everyone else who is unfamiliar with the band, they are a trio made up of members from Ruiner, and they are literally a post-hardcore band.

Geddit? Because Ruiner was a hardcore band and this is the thing they are doing after that, hence the post. You'll get it.

Vocally they go along the Touche Amore/La Dispute route with music that is a little heavier and far more depressing. The title of the record obviously alludes to this but the subject matter of the record is less than chipper, dwelling on broken relationships, growing old and all round depression.

The guitars are the main driver despite their simplicity, with the songs being given their balls by the rhythm section. The band often slips into progressive rock territory, most notably in the song 'Filters', however in this case too little happens to make the length of time that this section runs for interesting.

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The bass driven 'Bright Light' is an example of the band at their strengths, plenty of room for the guitars to mess around while the drums provide a gradual build in energy and the vocals take the spotlight. Unfortunately, the group has decided that tonal variety is unnecessary making the record drag a little and eventually become quite grating, couple this with the lethargic pace of the tracks and it's not something you need to hear too many times.

'Small Fires' sounds a little reminiscent of Helmet thanks to its crushing drum lines and is followed by a few more of the same tracks before the closer '1/10/82 - 8/8/12', which brings back the intense building idea that channels the previously mentioned Touche/La Dispute vibe even more and is probably the record's strongest track.

Holy Tongues have explained themselves clearly on their debut. This will certainly fill you in on what they are about and they do it well. Let's just hope they have some more variety on the way as it may get real old, real fast.

1. Pale Light

2. Filters

3. 92

4. Bright Light

5. Small Fires

6. Smoker

7. Follow

8. 1/10/82 - 8/8/12