The Holy Shroud "Ghost Repeaters" (Level Plane)
By Peter A. Holden
Tuesday. Jun 07, 1:34 AM
A surge of vigor that will make you stand up and shout!

There’s a little bit of this in all of us: a frantic sense of insistence. This feeling I’m referring to is what The Holy Shroud conjures up in their album Ghost Repeaters. The Nova Scotia quartet seems to encompass the very idea of insistence: its chaotic and adrenalized energy. The sweat and fear. The anticipation that it creates. The drama of its progression and the oh-so recognizable sensation that is urgency. If there was one word to describe what The Holy Shroud does, it would definitely be “insist.”

What do they insist upon exactly? Well duh, they insist you fucking listen and stand up proudly as you do it. From seething, jangly guitar pedestals two vocalists Fugazily shout at you to listen up and pay attention. Fueling their oratory is a rhythmic sensibility that is unparalleled among indie bands in many ways. No track better attests to this than the surging “Landmarks to Postmarks.” A solid, tightly-knit beat strays quite often into fruitful fills that never betray the tempo, nor its dead even, late-night lover: meter. Unlike their peerage that often take their notes and cues from such indie darlings as Sunny Day Real Estate, The Holy Shroud one up their predecessors and peers in sheer musicianship. A sure fire way to grab your listener and insist they listen is to simply impress them with your skill. A tight band is hard to deny, and these gentlemen use the tools to their advantage.

What makes Ghost Repeaters so impressive is its avoidance of the pitfalls of a debut record. Even many great bands begin their careers with a shit-tastic debut album that suggests nothing really useful except their potential. That nagging suggestion is sometimes enough to make us come back for more, even after previewing their entire album’s worth of junk. But quite often it is not. The Holy Shroud conquer that freshman demon by writing an album that gets better, fuller, and more insistent as it proceeds onward, rising to levels of excitement that few in their profession do. By the time you reach the final track “Curtain Calls,” the surge of vigor and outright fervor have won you over. I promise.

The Holy Shroud are a keeper and one to watch for fans of Hot Cross, Q And Not U, and – even to a lesser extent – early Cursive. They’ll make you stand up and shout indie-style, not cockrock style.
www.level-plane.com

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Peter A. Holden

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