Holy Wave: 2011 - 2020

 

The Texas psychedelic combo Holy Wave take a restrained approach to their music, sounding like they have only just woken up as the tapes start rolling. Mixing sleepy shoegaze, reverb-baked garage rock,

and slowly creeping psych, the quintet staked out a quiet claim as one of the more satisfying bands of their era. Their early records, like 2011's Knife Hits, leaned more toward the garage rock side of the equation; they soon started adding more vintage synths to the mix, and by the time they hit the 2020s, albums like Interloper and Five of Cups were balanced equally between trippy guitars and humming keyboards.
               

Holy Wave formed in 2008 when multi-instrumentalists Kyle Hager and Julián Ruiz decided to leave their hometown of El Paso for the more musically friendly environment of Austin. After adding Ryan Fuson, Joey Cook, and Dustin Zozaya to the lineup, they developed a sound that worked in garage rock,

glazed-over psychedelic sounds, and echoing shoegaze. Each member contributed to the writing and took turns adding whatever instrument seemed right. After making a name for themselves in Austin (and becoming regular guests at the annual Austin Psych Fest), Holy Wave released their first LP, 2011's Knife Hits. In 2012, the quintet issued an EP, The Evil Has Landed, and these first two releases were paired on a 2013 collection called Evil Hits.
                

The band spent time touring and honing their sound by adding drones and more layers of dreamlike reverb, then in early 2014, issued their second proper album, Relax, through the partnership of the Reverberation Appreciation Society and Burger Records. The following year, they released The Evil

Has Landed, Pt. 2, a collection of B-sides from Relax and demos for their next LP, Freaks of Nurture. That album was produced by the band and busy Austin producer Erik Wofford, and was issued by the Reverberation Appreciation Society in early 2016. Holy Wave set out on tour afterward, making their usual appearance at the Levitation Festival in Austin and recording a Fuzz Club session in London that was released in early 2017. The group spent the year touring with Hope Sandoval and working on their fourth album.
          

2018's Adult Fear was produced by Dillon Fernandez of the garage rock band Leather Girls and featured a less lush, slightly uneasy sound that allowed Holy Wave to bring some spookiness into their laid-back tunes. As usual, a spell of touring followed before the band headed back to record more music. Working with producer Charles Godfrey in his Scary American studio, the group bucked

tradition to finish one song at a time, while layering in more keys than ever before, and for the first time, letting each bandmember take over lead vocals. The resulting album, Interloper, was released in July of 2020. After doing some hard thinking during the COVID-19 pandemic about whether they wanted to continue making music, the band began work on their fifth album. Featuring contributions from Estrella del Sol of Mint Field, plus Lorelle Meets the Obsolete's Lorena Quintanilla and Alberto Gonzalez, 2023's Five of Cups sees the group pursuing a similar keyboard-heavy, moodily relaxed direction as their previous album.
                   

It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine: Holy Wave Intreview HERE

1. HOLY WAVE - EVIL HITS 2013

              

Holy Wave released their first LP, 2011's Knife Hits. In 2012, the quintet issued an EP, The Evil Has

Landed, and these first two releases were paired on a 2013 collection called Evil Hits.
               

Holy Wave – Evil Hits
Label: The Reverberation Appreciation Society – RVRB-011
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Year: 2013

KNIFE HITS   2011        

              

01. Best Friends   3:40       
02. Brahman   4:03    
03. Arab Spring       3:36
04. Golden Truth   2:38    
05. Gris   4:50    

THE EVIL HAS LANDED   2012    

                

  
06. Albuquerque Freakout    4:44
07. Dejame En Paz    3:31
08. Spooky Fuckin Blues    3:30
09. The Pass    3:49
10. Cool De La    4:56

Flac Size: 194 MB

2. HOLY WAVE - RELAX 2014

             

The echo and reverb that hover over the music on Relax certainly help to conjure up a lysergic mood, as

do the occasional atonal sound effects that creep in and out of the mix, but the real key to Holy Wave is their way with a drone; the low-budget organ that lurks in the background of most of these tunes gives the music a persistent, thoughtful hum that not only gives the songs a cohesive thread but adds a hypnotic element, lulling the listener into the determined drift of these 11 songs. Holy Wave are clearly students of the fuzz 'n' Farfisa branch of psychedelia rather than the more serious acts that would emerge on the West Coast (the Dead and the Airplane wouldn't sing about surfing in the subway, let alone make it sound like a good idea), but their commitment to a properly expanded mind never seems

less than total, as the ringing of the guitars, the throb of the bass, and the report of the tambourine suggest a descent into a gentle maelstrom. Holy Wave could work a little harder on their melodies (the "Hey Joe" lift "Psychological Thriller" is as good as they get in terms of tunefulness), but they sure have a sound of their own, and if you're of a mind to journey beyond the infinite with your headphones as your guide, Relax is as good a road map as you'll find in the year 2014.  
                 

Holy Wave - Relax
Label: The Reverberation Appreciation Society – RVRB-016
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Jan 28, 2014
Genre: Rock
Style: Indie Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Garage Rock

TRACKS

                    

01. Do You Feel It?    3:34
02. Psychological Thriller    2:39
03. Night Tripper    5:02
04. Sol Love    2:30
05. Star Stamp    3:33
06. Son Of Sound    4:41
07. Shamania    4:53
08. Change Your Head / Ecstatic Moment    5:03
09. Surfin MTA    3:59
10. Mouth Mountain    4:19
11. Wet & Wild    2:37

Flac Size: 282 MB

3. HOLY WAVE - THE EVIL HAS LANDED II (EP) 2015

            

The Evil Has Landed, Pt. 2, a collection of B-sides from Relax and demos for their next LP, Freaks of

Nurture. That album was produced by the band and busy Austin producer Erik Wofford, and was issued by the Reverberation Appreciation Society in early 2016.

                 

Holy Wave – The Evil Has Landed Part II
Label: The Reverberation Appreciation Society – RVRB-021
Format: Vinyl, 10", EP, Limited Edition, Clear
Country: US
Released: 2015
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

           

A1. Sueños
A2. Hood Dreams
A3. Crystal Blue P
B1. Son Of Sound
B2. Lady Madonna's Operation
B3. Our Pigs Only Have One Bad Day

Flac Size: 157 MB

4. HOLY WAVE - FREAKS OF NURTURE 2016

             

Mixing long, droning songs that ebb and flow like the best psych-y dream pop with shorter, more focused tunes that bring to mind paisley underground heroes the Rain Parade, the record never settles into the kind of dazed autopilot one might expect from a group so relaxed. It helps that the long songs

actually build into something impressively dramatic, especially the album-opening "She Put a Seed in My Ear" and the majestic ballad "California Took My Bobby Away," which sounds like a great lost shoegaze track. The band really gets into some deep and resonant territory here as the instruments and vocals lock into highly satisfactory grooves and the sound floods the listener's senses with warm, soothing feelings.
               

The hookier tracks really stand out in this environment; the jangling, paisley-clad "Wendy Go Round" shows right away that Holy Wave have upped their game in the song department. Further examples of

this upgrade can be found on the murkily rampaging rocker "You Should Lie" and the spooky-sweet "Minstrel's Gallop," which closes the album on a nice relaxed note. The band sounded just fine before, quite properly psychedelic and dream state-y; on Freaks of Nurture they have made all the right moves to jump themselves out of the pack and up near the front of the line of their fellow time-traveling freaks.
               

Holy Wave – Freaks Of Nurture
Label: The Reverberation Appreciation Society – RVRB-026
Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition
Country: US
Released: Feb 1, 2016
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock, Shoegaze, Indie Rock

TRACKS

          

01. She Put A Seed In My Ear    5:18
02. Wendy Go Round    3:24
03. Western Playland    5:08
04. You Should Lie    2:27
05. California Took My Bobby Away    5:39
06. Airwolf    5:38
07. Our Pigs    5:27
08. Sir Isaac Nukem    4:59
09. Magic Landing    2:35
10. Minstrel's Gallop    3:37

Flac Size: 297 MB

5. HOLY WAVE - ADULT FEAR 2018

            

The Psychedelic Texans Holy Wave built an impressively warm and enveloping sound that spread from speaker to speaker like melted butter, they change things up a little on Adult Fear. Working with producer Dillon Fernandez of the garage rock band Leather Girls instead of Erik Wofford, Holy Wave opt for a tinnier sound -- smaller in scope and more brittle at times -- that comes off like a lo-fi version

of their previous work. That may sound like a diss, but it actually works really well here. The uneven mix and less all-encompassing sound add spookiness and unease to the songs, as well as giving some tracks the feel of dusty old private-label psych tracks that have just been unearthed. Interestingly, the band doesn't scale back the arrangements at all to go with the scruffier sound. The opening "Nation in Regress" has chiming 12-string guitar, rollicking electric organ, twinkling keys, and what sounds like a Mellotron lurking in the murk, for example.
             

The rest of the album layers in various vintage keys, all sorts of guitars, supple rhythm section work, and wispy, heartfelt vocals throughout, never skimping on the sonic accouterments. It's a fascinating set

of choices, and Holy Wave back up the sound with the kind of dreamlike and quietly hooky songs they rolled out on their first two records. Like those records, nothing here will make listeners jump out of their chairs on first listen, but songs as sneaky good as "David's Flower," as haltingly pretty as "Dixie Cups," and as insistent as the title track are the work of a first-rate modern psychedelic combo. Holy Wave are certainly that and Adult Fear is their third impressive album in a row, one that's essential to hear for anyone who likes hazy, trippy, and unassumingly captivating psychedelia.
              

Holy Wave – Adult Fear
Label: The Reverberation Appreciation Society – RVRB-028
Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: Mar 30, 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

             

01. Nation In Regress    4:03
02. How Was I Supposed To Know    4:39
03. Habibi    8:06
04. Dixie Cups    5:36
05. David's Flower    5:36
06. The Nurse's Tale    4:32
07. Crys    3:56
08. Adult Fear    5:36
09. Time Is Not Okay    3:49

LINE - UP

Dustin Zozaya
Joseph A. Cook Sr.
Julian Ruiz  
Kyle Hager
Ryan Fuson

WITH

Dillon Fernandez
Josh Phipps
Nolan Potter

Flac Size: 254 MB

6. HOLY WAVE - INTERLOPER 2020

            

On the four albums leading up to 2020's Interloper, the Texas quartet Holy Wave quietly established themselves as reliable practitioners of top-notch psychedelic sounds. The band fill their psychedelic beakers with typical ingredients like echoing guitars, spacey melodies, and hazy atmospheres, while also adding potent strains of washed-out shoegaze textures, hypnotic motorik rhythms, and reverb-

heavy garage rock. On their previous album, Adult Fear, the group added more vintage keys to the mix and that's a trend that they expand on here. Almost every track has a Vox organ or mini-Moog lurking in the background, and sometimes there are sweeping synths or clanky drum machines working away, too. The album opener, "Schmetterling," has enough trilling sequencers, thick organs, and burbling synths to give Stereolab a run for their money, and the rest of the album benefits greatly from the subtle tricky placement of the keys in the arrangements.
                    

It's all a part of the more considered sonic approach Holy Wave undertook while recording the album. Not only have they added more keys, each song sounds like it was created in a laboratory setting. Any rough edges have been smoothed off, leaving the songs sounding soft, supple, and almost peaceful at

times. Gently swaying tracks like "R&B" and "Maybe Then I Can Cry" are easy to cuddle up as the guitars jangle and twang, the rhythm section sways, and the vocals croon soothingly, and the trippy epic ballad "Escapism" has a stately and majestic feel that even a half-ton of reverb can't bury. Holy Wave aren't the showiest neo-psych band around and their lack of image might make them seem a little pedestrian to the casual observer. That's never been the case, and as their music continues to expand and grow like it does here, it could be that they outlast all the hotshots and show-offs to end up as the leader of the 2010s class of psychedelic wanderers.
           

Holy Wave – Interloper
Label: The Reverberation Appreciation Society – RVRB-029
Format: CD, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: Jul 3, 2020
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

           

01. Schmetterling   4:27
02. R&B   4:23
03. Interloper   3:49
04. Maybe Then I Can Cry   5:04
05. Escapism   4:26
06. I’m Not Living In The Past Anymore   4:07
07. No Love   3:36
08. Hell Bastards   3:59
09. Buddhist Pete   6:26
10. Redhead   4:19

Flac Size: 325 MB