Indie rockers these days are doing a lot of knob turning, button pressing, and head flopping. Holy Fuck, the post-rock outfit from Ontario, is no exception. Fittingly, I first listened to these guys' LP while speeding through Canada a few years back, and it was as though the music were made to induce a pedal to the metal. The live show at Le Poisson Rouge in the West Village gave me the same impression.
Holy Fuck have crafted an unconventional, noisy method of pumping adrenaline into the room. Their most compelling moments occur when textured builds crescendo into deep atmospheric jams. Holy Fuck piles synthesized bleeps and boops atop driving drums and bass lines to craft their grooves, but instead of bouncing back to a familiar chorus, they revel in their creation. Drummer Matt Schulz and bassist Matt McQuaid are integral to the organic nature and compositional progression of the songs. With no pesky melodic vocal lines to interfere, the rhythms are highlighted and the focus is shifted to the arc of the jam.
Front men Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh bellowed vocals into beaten microphones when there was room for an extra dimension of sound. In truth, they were wailing echoes over soundscapes whether or not there was room for them, but such is the nature of loud, largely improvisational electronic music. Borcherdt delivered his only intelligible words between songs to the tune of, "thanks a lot, lot, lot...we're Holy Fuck, Fuck, Fuck." For the majority of the show, the two bobbed their shaggy heads over electronic panels spewing cords, lanky arms and long fingers manipulating a mad assortment of phased samples.
Holy Fuck played a number of songs from Latin, their latest release, though the audience seemed happiest to hear some of the tried and true favorites from the two previous records. Holy Fuck put together a solid set, but suffered slightly in their attempts to do the new tracks justice. Frustrating moments were evident from Borcherdt's tight-lipped head shakes, and at the close of one particularly deafening number he acknowledged the trouble, offering, "sorry about the feedback."
Holy Fuck's allure is their ability create an immersive, ecstatic sound environment with energetic injections at every pulse. Experiencing a Holy Fuck show is kind of like drinking four cups of coffee. After the concert, I ventured back out into the Village and found it, by comparison, a little drab.
