Welsh Alternative Psych Rock band ‘Holy Coves’ have released their brand new music video for single ‘Grey’ via their ever growing new YouTube channel. ‘Grey’ is the third in a series of five music videos created by award winning Ukrainian Filmmaker ‘Taras Merenkov’. Merenkov’s hazy cinematic style of direction really emphasizes the music and makes a formidable visual. ‘Grey’ is taken from the bands acclaimed new album ‘Druids and Bards’ which is out now via Welsh label ‘Yr Wyddfa Records’.
North Wales alternative psych-rock band Holy Coves hail from Holy Island, Anglesey, led by Welsh singer songwriter Scott Marsden. The band released their third studio album Druids & Bards October 2022 on Welsh indie label Yr Wyddfa Records, receiving critical acclaim appearing on numerous album of the year lists and album of the year nominations.
Championed by Gary Crowley on BBC Radio London and playlisted on Amazing Radios A List by Charlie Ashcroft, with BBC Radio Wales’ support from Adam Walton & Huw Stephens, BBC 6 Music support from Steve Lamacq and huge support from Neil Crud, Iain Key & Adam Brady on Louder Than War Radio. The Welsh band had quite the year in 2022.
They kick off 2023 in style in the Welsh capital Cardiff with a headline show at The Moon for This Feeling’s Big in 2023 showcase Thursday 19th January with UK tour dates and festivals to be announced this year.
”an awe-inspiring record full of vivid freshness” – Wales Arts Review
“Influenced by the Siberian and Mongolian wilderness, as open and vast as the limitless sky around them, ‘ETO’ perfectly captures the trio’s growing confidence with its open-hearted soaring melody’s and lyrical vulnerability.” – Music Scene Wales
2. The Heavy North – Electric Soul Machine
“Electric Soul Machine is solid proof of The Heavy North’s songwriting abilities and command of their instruments plus a good knowledge of their sound and genre with a unique touch. It has well-thought dynamics that’ll have your undivided attention right from the 1st note” – Rock Era Magazine
“This album is packed to the brim with the kind of upbeat refrains and harmonies that’ll have you dancing along (in your chair if you must) from start to finish.” – Music Scene Wales
3. Holy Coves – Druids and Bards
“Druids And Bards is a powerful album which deserves your time and attention. If there is any justice it will be up there in the next couple of months in the end-of-year ‘Best Of’ lists.”- Louder Than War
Druids and Bards is a superb, flawlessly-crafted album, as close to perfect as any I’ve heard this year. Every track is outstanding, making for a joyful listening experience from start to finish. Holy Coves are back, and then some! – Eclectic Music Lover
4. Fontaines D.C.
“The Irish band’s third album is a fierce, dirge-like thundercloud of ruination” – Independent
“Jason Pierce returns with a sonic feast. The man also known as J. Spaceman delivers a dense, orchestrated record that is as solid as it is sprawling, proving that he’s a master of sonics. – NME
“A sweet din of magnificent melodies.” – The Guardian
6. Sea Power
“One of their best works…these dynamic, grandiose anthems are worth getting to know.” – Standard
“A hopeful and defiant record that rails against ugly, insular points of view.” – NME
7. The Brian Jonestown Massacre
“Brian Jonestown Massacre is out of this world, quite literally. Highly prolific and ever-present in the alternative-indie scene.” – Clash Music
“Immersive. Beautiful. Everything you could want from a 180grm black vinyl LP.” – Music Scene Wales
8. The Black Angels – Wilderness of Mirrors
“It’s all part of an astonishing cinematic tapestry. This album will leave you so wobbly and weak-kneed, you might have to take a few days off work to recover. Headphone melter of the year so far, for sure.” – Louder Sound
“Heavy vibes. Floaty. Cinematic. Committed.” – Music Scene Wales
9. Goat – Oh Death
“Oh Death is an extremely well put together, cohesive and dynamic album. It offers trippy and wild afro-beats with jazz infused psych rock, louder and more aggressive than Goat has ever sounded.” – The Sleeping Shaman
“It’s as confusing as hell, but it’s also thrilling, occasionally daft, and deliriously, gloriously imaginative. Goat’s best album.” – Louder Sound
10. Voldo – Melting Pot
“Altogether, as an album, it works really well, with the group’s customary taste and precision balanced against a new looseness and a return to earlier, funky playing patterns. That’s more than enough to make it the best Booker T. album in some time, the Memphis Gas of the Year, and a Major Rock Event for everyone.” – Rolling Stone
“Everything here is what you want from an all time great album.” – Music Scene Wales
11. Bob Vylan – Presents The Price Of Life
“Fiercely relevant, furious punk anthems. The London duo’s alt-rock tracks about inequality will speak to a wider audience than their previous album did, but they also never soften their edges.”- NME
12. Lewca – Friday Night Rockstar
“Lewca smashes it with his release of the debut album, Friday Night Rockstar. The Brixton-born but French-living artist comes at us from Paris with love, humour, melancholy, and a bag full of drugs. This album is sexy and relentlessness.” – Up To Hear Music
13. Hippies vs Ghosts – Giamocs
“Giamocs oozes class from beginning to end.” – Music Scene Wales
14. Josienne Clarke – Now & Then
“There is heartfelt emotion laid bare on this most personal of song cycles.” – Folk Radio
15. Suede – Autofiction
“A renewed sense of urgency – and enjoyment – pulses through this punchy, passionate comeback” – The Guardian
16. Wet Leg – Wet Leg
“An instant classic debut that justifies the hype” – NME
17. The Shed Project – The Curious Mind Of A Common Man
“They’re here for a good time, they wear their influences on their sleeves and couldn’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks” – Louder Than War
18. The Shop Window – A 4 Letter Word
“A 4 Letter Word is the much anticipated follow up to their 2021 debut The State Of Being Human.” – Louder Than War
19. The Telephones – Prosaic Turbulence
“The Telephones mix and unfold in a very beautiful and successful way their influences which come from bands of the 60s such as The Byrds, Love, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and The Doors etc.” – Gew Gaw
20. The Smile – A Light For Attracting Attention
“Attention is the brighter star in the Radiohead extended universe — maybe even the brightest — because the music balances beloved old sounds and new ideas while the lyrics speak pointedly to modern horrors.” – Vulture
21.The Battery Farm – FLIES
“FLIES is a valiant effort from The Battery Farm whose ferocious and distorted sound really feels the anguish and anger of modern-day society. The instrumentation is hard-hitting and experimental, the vocal variety matches the moods and themes of the album and shows how far the group is developing their sound from their previous EP.” – RGM
22. Florence &The Machine – Dance Fever
“Wonderful wildness from the most thrilling pop star of her generation In its commitment to euphoria, ‘Dance Fever’ is an album that looks forward to the release of all the pandemic’s pent-up energy at this summer’s festivals” – Independent
23. The Snuts – Burn The Empire
“Urgent excitement holds together the many twists.” – NME
24. Adam Walton – Afal
“Afal is an album that gets under the skin, that lingers and whispers at you in the darkest corners of your day.” – Wales Arts Review
25. Bjork – Fossora
“One of her hardest-hitting albums.” – The Guardian
26. Nova Twins – Supernova
“If you like music with attitude, passion and ferocity then this album and Nova Twins are most definitely for you. ‘Supernova’ really is a half hour of power and it will do nothing but continue to push this incredible band on their upwards trajectory!” – Full Pelt Music
27. Gwenno – Tresor
“Keeping “the Cornish language alive and singing Written in Cornwall and sung almost entirely in the local tongue, this album is as beautiful and strange as the county itself.” – Standard
28. Warpaint – Radiant Like This
“This comeback is a tribute to what you can accomplish when creating with people you love, proving the band can’t be tied to a specific scene.” – NME
29. Bastions – Majestic Desolation
“Majestic Desolation is a brief flash of ferocity. But in spite of its shortness, it leaves a lasting impact long after the final chords have rung out.” – Kerrang
30. Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard – Backhand Deals
“An invigorating blast of 70s power-pop that just about avoids the realms of pastiche thanks to some smart observational writing and irresistible guitar hooks.” – Guitar
31. The Skinner Brothers – Soul Boy II
“The Skinners Brothers sound is expertly varied and crafted, and you cant help but get slapped with little busts of familiarity. Senses are awaken by new tunes that you will feel like you’ve moshed to before. Think of it like this, if the restaurant menu was filled with all the big indie rock acts well The Skinners Brothers latest offering would be the mixed grill. Yummy.” – All Music Magazine
32. Skylights – What You Are
“Their emotive and raucous tunes fit the live indie-rock atmosphere without a doubt.” – RGM
33. Arctic Monkeys – The Car
“The band’s musical purpose comes through crystal clear in the elegant strings and subtle riffs cleverly woven throughout album, resulting in the most mature work the band has ever released.” Rolling Stone
34. Pixy Jones – Bits n Bobs
“It’s an eclectic mix ranging from experimental and psychedelic, synth-infused pop numbers, to the known and loved 60’s Beetle’s-esk rock harmonies – as well as the odd country blues nugget thrown in which is paired with the occasional Pixy Jones twist. Talk about an album living up to its name. Consisting of 13 tracks in total, ‘Bits n Bobs’ is truly a solid launch to any solo career.” – Hive Magazine
35. Deja Vega – Personal Hell
“With a sonic bang of pure power that screams along at breakneck speed throughout, which burns but never crashes. It’s already a contender for one of the albums of the year and I swear you will play this over and over again.” – Louder Than War
36. Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band – Dear Scott
“Can music really save your mortal soul? Maybe…Maybe not… But after listening to the new Michael Head and the Red Elastic band album Dear Scott you will surely think it can.” – Louder Than War
37. Alvvays – Blue Rev
“A subtle but satisfying expansion – The Canadians’ third album is still identifiably Alvvays, but the hooks here are sweeter, the instrumentation brighter, the energy more palpable.” – NME
38. James Domestic – Carrion Repeating
“He’s put words and music to vinyl and the results make compelling listening. Carrion Repeating is an album of eleven genre-less observational tracks, documenting our pitiful existence.” – Louder Than War
39. Horace Andy – Midnight Rocker
“Over the past five decades, the legacy of Andy’s voice has reflected his music’s history. Just as the acetate of a dubplate wears with each play, giving the genre its uniquely decaying instrumental quality, so his voice has matured from the clean, high-register clarion call on breakout single Skylarking into a richer, more vulnerable tenor. His first collaboration with British dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood, Midnight Rocker is the perfect showcase for this late-career sound, revisiting a selection of Andy’s earlier material in addition to six new tracks.” – The Guardian
40. Peaness – World Full Of Worry
“Peaness have delivered the aural equivalent of a sugar rush that leaves you exhilarated but with a bit of a come down. It won’t be long before you’re listening again though, and want to take again and again. A brilliant debut from a trio I’m looking forward to catching live soon.” – Louder Than War
41. Joe Adhemar – About The Soul
“Joe Adhemar is a genuinely individual voice with a genuinely individual view of the world. Which is giving listeners the chance to appreciate someone who stands apart from the crowd.” – Subba Cultcha
42. Just Mustard – Heart Under
“Just Mustard are a band completely at one with their sound, and with Heart Under they have well and truly mastered the art of atmospheric rock.” – Loud And Quiet
43. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Omnium Gatherum
“The album is a smorgasbord of delights for any and all fans. Omnium Gatherum is proof that the band are enjoying a newfound freedom of being unshackled from their own self-imposed limitations to work albums through individual styles. Everything is on the table to be devoured, a pure feast of aural pleasure.” – Louder Than War
44. Weyes Blood – And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
“And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow gently bombards you with one fantastic tune after another.” – The Guardian
45. First Aid Kit – Palomino
“Palomino’ flits between the certainties and uncertainties of love with ease, strengthened by deeper musical experimentation that won’t alienate longtime fans. Another gem in First Aid Kit’s consistently good arsenal of timeless, harmony-rich roots music.” – NME
46. Jessie Buckley & Bernard Butler – For All Our Days That Tear The Heart
“The actor and the former Suede guitarist deliver a beautifully produced folk-inflected set that showcases Buckley’s magical voice.” – The Guardian
47. Foals- Life Is Yours
“Foals headed into this process as a lean, mean, party-starting machine. The opening title track showcases that taut approach, warm optimism and fixed focus as Afrobeat rhythms greet Yannis comes blinking out of lockdown, rave-ready, can in hand.” – NME
48. The Myterines – Reeling
“Reeling’ is gripping throughout, and the band always seem ready to ascend to another level.” – NME
49. Columbia – Embrace The Chaos
“A life-affirming set of songs that will smash whatever stands in its way. For once, we alternative types beg the gatekeepers to put up barriers. It’ll only be that much sweeter when Columbia destroys them!” – Travellers Tunes
50. Kula Shaker – The Once and Future King
“It’s a cracking slice of psychedelic rock at it’s best and a great return from the quartet who brought us the brilliant K back in the mid nineties.” – Louder Than War
51. Wrest – End All The Days
“The act’s new collection of songs End All The Days paints pictures and creates unparalleled snapshots of days gone by, of memories not so pretty. Lyrically, the songs are poised expertly, and are poetically balanced.” – I am Tuned Up
52. Hot Chip – Freakout/Release
“One of the most consistently entertaining electro-pop outfits of their generation have released their most introspective album yet.” – NME
53. Yard Act – The Overload
“A wonderfully wacky debut…The Leeds band’s debut is a wild ride through their Yorkshire upbringing, and the curly characters they picked up along the way.” – NME
54. TVAM – High Art Lite
“Listening to TVAM’s fierce and fiery new long-player, ‘High Art Lite’, feels like a dress rehearsal for this unavoidable solar apocalypse. The album is surf garage in a furnace. A synth orgy in a barbecue pit. A blistering barrage of fervent guitars and guttural synths, washed in plastic luminosity like a nuclear spill at Wigan Pier.” – Electronic Sound
55. Mother sun – Train Of Thought
“The album includes many of Petrucci’s finest solos, but the overall impression conveyed by the record is of unstoppable, if murky, power.” – Louder Sound
56. Orange G – The Void Bereft
“Beautifuly crafted songs with outstanding vocals.” – Music Scene Wales
57. Ben Pagano – Exploring Dreams
“Ben Pagano enthralls on the rousing “Feeling Down,” navigating both spacious synth-laden soundscapes and impassioned rock with cohesive success.” – Obscure Sound
58. Mike Legere – Memory Forming Clouds
“Awonderful slice of raw emotion.” – Up To Hear
59. Shadow Bones – In Another Life
“This beautifully written album is one that tells of Lukes demons and vulnerabilities through his sweet lyrics full of emotion.” – Music Scene Wales
60. Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountian I Believe In You
“They are a band you absolutely want to love – female-fronted, searching and sensitive, organically grown, tackling themes like the infinite as well as confessionals about love and loss.” – The Guardian
61. Moor Mother – Jazz Codes
“A stunning continuum of Black music.” – The Guardian
62. Gabriels – Angels & Queens – Part 1
“Brooding gospel soul with a shimmy and a stomp.” – The Guardian
63. Ezra Furman – All Of Us Flames
“Returning to familiar sounds of vintage girl groups and rock’n’roll, Ezra Furman writes trans pride and existential fear into an album that reveals the full strength of her vulnerabilities.” – Pitchfork
64. The Reverse Cowgirls – Fortis et Fidus
“While never losing the cow-punk fervour of its predecessors, Fortis et Fidus is a markedly different beast, lyrically poignant and musically inventive with key tracks.” – Louder Than War
65. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Cool It Down
“A triumphant, rewarding return.” – NME
66. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Return of the Dream Canteen
“An Overwhelming Feast.” – NME
67. Wunderhorse – Cub
“Teenage punk evolves into a rock’n’roll troubador.” – NME
68. The Lightning Seeds – See You in the Stars
“See You In The Stars` is a welcome return to Lightening Seeds and it has it`s kind of yin and yang moments throughout with some really upbeat tunes and some more reflective and thoughtful life musings.” – Maximum Volume Music
69. Pale Blue Eyes – Souvenirs
“Heartwarming optimism is what characterises their debut from the get-go. Souvenir begins with frenetic electropop opener ‘Globe’, its underpinning rich vocal and twinkly synth doubling calling to mind OMD and New Order, and the chanted “you got this” call and response oozing hope and self belief.” – Clash Magazine
70. Woodoo Man – Y Nos
“The album draws on the artist’s love of solitude. It is a celebration of the beauty of the night and its mystery as he urges us to free our minds and open our hearts to the unknown.” – Music Scene Wales
This Feelings Big In 2023 in association with Scotts Menswear and Redstripe kicks off in the capital city of Cardiff, Wales this month, Thursday 19th January.
It will showcase four Welsh bands being touted to break through this year with the help of This Feelings’ team. The four band showcase will be held at Cardiff’s prestigious independent venue The Moon Cardiff.
On the lineup will be North Wales’ Alternative Psych Rock band Holy Coves, Cardiff’s very own Alt Psych band Red Telephone, Merthyr Tydfils’ Public Order and Welsh newcomers Ratoon.
7.30pm til late Tickets £8 Advance £10 on the door. Tickets can be purchased from the link below or via See Tickets and Skiddle
I know many album reviewers like to keep the reader on tenterhooks until the end of the review before the big reveal of how good the piece of work is, but Druids and Bards is an absolutely wonderful record so there is no need for beating around the bush here. We have been treated to a previous Holy Coves album (albeit 15 years ago) we have had four exceptional singles from this album already and we have had half a U.K. tour so you know what you are going to get; a hazy, shoe-gazy whirl of fuzz, packed with emotion and plaintive guitars, layers of sound and an intense man absolutely exposing his soul.
We all know that music can transcend space and time, it has the ability to transport the listener to moments in their own life or evoke feelings of understanding of some truth the writer needs to express. In this way Druids and Bards conjures a sonic soundscape that transports the listener to the realm of Holy Coves; a mystical place separated from the mainland by a narrow rift in the land that is filled with turbulent waters, more than that, Holy coves come from an island off this island; a place twice removed. This place is beautiful and sparse, it can be wild and isolated, the island was once the most important place in Wales, the only place where the native language had a legal status and speakers could defend themselves in court in their native tongue. From the island, the view back across to the mainland is dominated by foreboding snow peaked mountains dotted with castles and fortifications. Scott was formed in the environment and as much as he himself is a force of nature in his own right, we all have to conform to our environment.
Just like the physical land itself, connected to the mainland by a bridge transporting tourist and heavy goods vehicles to the island when the elemental forces allow; this bridge can close when the weather turns tempestuous and the straits become tumultuous, closing the gateway to the land of the Holy Coves. Like the bridge, this album connects Holy Coves to a place and time, it connects the listener to the artist’s deepest thoughts, his very soul like an umbilical. From the opener Away We Go to the closer Taste The Wine (possibly my two personal favourite tracks on the album, although picking favourites here is liking picking favourites on the Verve’s A Storm in Heaven; pointless, just love the album as a whole as it was intended) the record is an absolute joy. It is right to be bookended in this way, Away We Go evokes feelings of eerily hollow euphoria; its a haunting anthem, it draws you in, it makes you want more, foreshadowing the feeling of going on a journey through your headphones. While Taste The Wine is the beautifully evocative metaphorical death knell of the record, it is the end of side two, arrival at the destination. O.K. it might not be an album you would stick on to kick off a Friday night with your mates, but it’s not a maudlin dirgefest either, it is more of a 2am introspection vibe or a road trip on your own so you can just have it in on repeat. For hours. Tracks like Grey sound more upbeat but Scott reminds us to “Let go the feel again, ‘cos everything is hopeless when you’re Grey. Hurt will find you, love will guide you home.” But as is often the case with soulful brilliance and emotionally charged
song writing, the overall effect is one of affirmation, hope redemption and resurrection. It is an album that bares its soul; the good and the bad, and says “I accept it all, I might not like it but it is me, my strengths, my flaws.” The album feels spacious and claustrophobic at the same time, possibly evoking the feeling of living on an island that is off an island that is off an island; but hey, it’s a nice place to visit.
As I said, What an album! 10 out of 10. Go and buy it, stream it, sing it, love it, go and see them live, Come on, Get in, Take two, my friend and AWAY WE GO!
North Wales Psychedelic rock band ‘Holy Coves’ have recently unveiled brand new video for their ‘Desert Storm’ singlewhich was released on Friday 29th of April via prolific North Wales Label ‘Yr Wyddfa Records’.
Dropping swiftly into the slip-stream and following on from the successful ‘The Hurt Within’ which was released last month, ‘Desert Storm’ sets the psych mood with droney riffs, hazy vocals on an epic musical landscape.
Led by Welsh Singer-Songwriter Scott Marsden, ‘Holy Coves’ find themselves crossing an unseen threshold on a fantastical new journey where new psych-hazed material spells an exciting new era for the collective.
Through long time friend and Producer David Wrench, ‘Holy Coves’ were put in touch with Texan Producer Erik Wofford (The Black Angels / Explosions In The Sky) and have built quite a magical working relationship, one where Wofford found himself on Mixing and Mastering duties for the material and certainly contributes to their new sound.
Holy Coves unveil new animated video for ‘The Hurt Within’ directed by acclaimed Ukrainian Animator and Filmmaker Taras Merenkov. It emphasises how art and creativity can still thrive and maintain a positive from a negative situation. Taras added; “Together will win all agressors and dictators!”
Available now across all streaming platforms. Watch here:
North Wales Psychedelic rock band ‘Holy Coves’ are poised to release their brand new single ‘The Hurt Within’ on Friday 25th of March via ‘Yr Wyddfa Records’.
Lead by Welsh Singer-Songwriter Scott Marsden, ‘Holy Coves’ find themselves crossing an unseen threshold on a fantastical new journey where new psych-hazed material spells an exciting new era for the collective.
Through long time friend and Producer David Wrench, ‘Holy Coves’ were put in touch with Texan Producer Erik Wofford(The Black Angels / Explosions In The Sky) and have built quite a magical working relationship, one where Wofford found himself on Mixing and Mastering duties for the material and certainly contributes to their new sound.
You can listen to ‘The Hurt Within‘ single via the #soundcloud link below
Holy Coves member Jason Hughes surprised everyone last month with the release of his debut solo album Sit Down. Jason wrote, recorded, mixed and mastered all of this fantastic record himself at his home studio in Manchester.
Jason has previously made records with Welsh band Holy Coves in 2008 and 2012, working with Welsh producer David Wrench. He has just finished recording the third Holy Coves record titled Druids & Bards and all the while still managed to find the time to craft this piece of genius. For a debut record this really is the perfect start. Right from the opening track Sit Down sucks you inand takes you on a wonderful train journey across Wales and Manchester to meet Joy division. It has a serious tone and yet still has a humorous feel to it. Like a dark comedy that still manages to make you cry, it is deep, energetic and the production is beautifully layered. You have The Welsh Ian Curtis! There you go I said it. It really is that good. Go and listen to Sit Down by The PainKillers today. Available across all streaming services and BandCamp
Holy Coves Welsh singer songwriter Scott Marsden released his debut solo EP titled Scars last week, followed by the announcement that his band Holy Coves will be retuning in 2022 with their third studio album titled Druids & Bards. Scars has been recorded as a half studio, half live acoustic EP. Recorded with Welsh Producer John Lawrence at his studio Nant Y Benglog near the Ogwen Lake, Snowdonia. Scars is a short, sweet listen which will leave you wanting more! Great timing of Holy Coves’ new record announcement!! Perfect to wet your whistle before the new Holy Coves record drops. Scott Marsden’s lyrics cut deep as ever and there’s a different feel than other Holy Coves records. This EP is honest & raw. Will we see the full length Scott Marsden solo record in the future? Who knows!! Maybe it’s already been made!!! Go check it out today. It definitely deserves a listen.
Released by Yr Wyddfa Records
Available from Spotify, Apple, Itunes, Amazon & Bandcamp
Indie Revolution 