Almost Mint

 

Holy Fuck - Deleter [HF 001 USA 2020 24-Bit FLAC]

In the never ending battle of music versus noise in amongst an industry's infatuation with applying compressed digital audio onto vinyl, I again raise the case for preserving the eardrums of a generation. What follows is a really good album, it would be even better without compression & limiting. The compact disc is deafening, the vinyl version is almost perfect.

Arriving at a moment where attention spans are short and anxieties are publicly exhumed on social media, Deleter - the fifth album by noisy Canadians Holy Fuck’s is a defiantly full-bodied affair. Polyrhythmic and pleasure-focused, Deleter sees the quartet seamlessly fuse the gauzy drive of dreamy hypnotic techno and deep house’s dreamy ineffability, expertly blending purring motorik percussion with the sort of foggy synthetic fizz, fudge and twang they have borrowed for all their fifteen years. Holy Fuck do not record bedroom electronica on laptops, this stuff is conceived with real instruments.

Personally, I find most of their earlier works unlistenable as they succumbed to industry pressure for total loudness, also the sight of twenty something hipsters bent low rocking over a keyboard twisting a distortion knob has been known to fill me with disdain. At last they have curbed their enthusiasm, controlled the levels and allowed their music to be heard. This could well be a great modern album, time will tell.

From the thrusting minimalism of opener Luxe through to the triumphant chug of closing track Ruby, via the uplifting, disco-ready Free Gloss and the cosmic psychedelic clatter of San Sebastian, Deleter is an album which joins the Holy Fuck dots into a widescreen, technicolor, crescendo-heavy sound. Those with an ear for a more gentle melody should head for the excellent Near Mint.

A1 Luxe

A2 Deleters

A3 Endless

A4 Free Gloss

B5 Moment

B6 Near Mint

B7 No Error

B8 San Sebastian

B9 Ruby