a statement by four accomplished musicians that feels like it was created from a place of incredible personal importance for all of those involved. This third album cements the outfit as one of the brightest acts in the alternative scene
There’s little debate over the fact that Holdingi Absence are a good band.
Over the past few years, Welsh four-piece have been edging towards the forefront of the latest great wave of UK rock, accompanied by peers such as Static Dress, Loathe, and Sleep Token in rejuvenating the UK rock scene. Their eponymous debut established the outfit as an emo powerhouse with great potential, and their sophomore effort, ‘The Greatest Mistake of My Life’ acted as an enjoyable follow-up that capitalised on their strengths; soaring melodies backed by deftly executed instrumentals that pull from a wide range of genres.
However, it has always felt like Holding Absence had more to give; an album within them that would truly propel them forwards from a ‘good’ band, to a ‘great’ band. From the start of this latest era, with their lead single ‘A Crooked Melody’, it has felt like this may finally be the case. But even with those long held expectations, it’s hard not to feel surprised about just how superb this third album is, and how it easily marks the band’s finest release to date.
‘The Noble Art of Self Destruction’ is a powerful album that acts as the final chapter in the band’s first act, with the first three albums being treated as a trilogy on love, loss, and redemption. With incredible and energetic performances from start to finish, the band sculpt a fantastic and cohesive musical journey that truly captures growth, commencing with a deep depression and overwhelming sense of self-doubt, and culminating with an acceptance of your own flaws, and an understanding of the power of letting go.
Lucas Woodland has always been a talented lyricist, but his skills across this entire album are in an entirely different league compared to what has come before. The manner in which he is able to explore the pain of therapy in ‘Head Prison Blues’ and his overwhelming imposter syndrome in ‘A Crooked Melody’, only to go on to write ‘The Angel in the Marble’, an indescribably complex and human look at self-acceptance, is simply an astounding feat to behold. His writings possess an emotional depth and earnestness that leaves the album as nothing short of a powerfully cathartic piece of art.
On top of that, Woodland’s usage of art as a way of thematically conveying this journey is fantastic, alluding to life being a constantly unfinished piece of artwork that can be worn and broken without losing worth; finally, an artist utilises kintsugi as more than just an aesthetic choice for artwork and actually incorporate its philosophy into their work.
Problems with pacing and cohesion that have cropped up on the band’s previous releases are hammered out, with the album flowing perfectly from one moment to the next; with fear at one end and hope at the other, the album pivots around the one-two combo of the gorgeously simplistic ‘Honey Moon’ and the MCR-esque anthem of ‘Death Nonetheless’, two tracks that encapsulate a sudden moment of realising that love is deserved and time is finite. The end of the latter track is a particularly great moment in the album, with a military style percussive rhythm, provided by Ashley Green, charging forwards beneath chants of ‘Deaf to the beat of her drums, overarching/Death, nonetheless, is constantly marching.’
‘Scissors’ also represents another particularly fantastic moment from the instrumentation department, with guitarist Scott Carey and bassist Benjamin Elliot showing off the metalcore and post-hardcore roots of the band with a particularly huge sounding breakdown segment. Woodland even pulls off a surprisingly aggressive performance vocally, sometimes nearly veering into an unclean tone that is reminiscent of Casey’s Tom Weaver. Of course, the vocals across the rest of the album are also captivating, with Woodland’s powerful belting performances a trademark of Holding Absence’s sound.
Tracks such as ‘Her Wings’ and ‘These New Dreams’ blast by with a tentative, wavering optimism, carried by uptempo and anthemic alternative and emo musicianship, before the album culminates in that aforementioned masterpiece, ‘The Angel in the Marble’. A piece that evolves steadily towards a resonant climax, this track is Holding Absence at their very, very best, tying together all of them themes of this album into a truly glorious closing statement. Bars such as ‘I’ll merge the man that I was hoping I could be with the man that I know that I am’ and ‘Destroy to create; who would have known?/There’s a sacrifice for growth’ truly embody the central aspect of this album: an acceptance that there is no ‘you’ without the flaws you possess, and they are something that do not determine your worth.
‘The Noble Art of Self Destruction’ is the incredible album that we all suspected Holding Absence could make; a statement by four accomplished musicians that feels like it was created from a place of incredible personal importance for all of those involved. This third album cements the outfit as one of the brightest acts in the alternative scene, UK or otherwise, and feels as though it truly is the start of the most exciting era yet for this band.
Music is an art, and Holding Absence understand that.
RATING: 90/100 – Excellent
For Fans Of: My Chemical Romance, Thornhill, Casey, Static Dress, Sleep Token
Physical copies of ‘The Noble Art of Self Destruction’ are available here. Signed copies are also available here.
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