Vagabond rock duo Holy Holy continues to hypnotise and enthral with the recent release of single Sentimental and Monday. After the howling hit that was You Cannot Fall For Love Like A Dog the track is the proverbial calm before the forthcoming album When The Storms Would Come due out July 24th. It is contemplative and composed while still providing the psychedelic solos and detailed layers that make up the pair’s signature sound.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/211876032″]
We recently chatted to lead vocalist Tim Carroll about the song as he took a post tour break in Sweden, a place that inspired the lyrics when he was living there in 2011.
“That song has two broad themes that overlap,” he says “I arrived in Sweden and the winter was coming and I started noticing this collective societal preparation… In winter in Stockholm the sun might come up at 11 then it’s gone again by 3… So it’s just months and months of darkness. People tend to go a bit crazy. They tend to stay home a lot and so I was just witnessing this kind of, collective apprehension of the coming winter.”
One of the key lines in the song is the haunting refrain “this darkness is nothing but a lack of light” which has a poetic simplicity that captures this imagery well.
“I was picking up on all these different things people would say and I remember there was this old man who had noticed there was this certain type of bird that is around during the summer but when winter comes it flies south to South Africa, and we were walking down the street and he was saying “I think they left today” kind of like as the marker for the beginning of winter. I was noticing all these poetic things that were going around.”
In his writing on the album Carroll seamlessly melds together observations on the natural world with those of human nature. He gives us a taste of this with Sentimental and Monday as he explains the second theme of the song:
“When my wife and I were coming to leave Sweden, her family were not going to see her for a long time because we were so far away in Australia and I noticed a kind of similar apprehension and sadness about that oncoming departure of their daughter that they loved so much. So I kind of used that theme of the coming darkness to look at this idea of leaving a city behind and leaving people behind, and so the idea “this darkness is nothing but a lack of light” and the other key line in that song is “hearts will burn just as Autumn leaves will always turn” is about how a part of life and loving is that there is also loss and hard times in that. And that the light and shade of life and loving people is that you also lose things some times.”
It’s a beautiful contrast and one that carries the track along with a heartfelt delivery. You can hear that it means something to Carroll and when laid over the sleek guitars of writing partner Oscar Dawson it is just honey.
Holy Holy will appear at Splendour in the Grass before heading off on a national tour to celebrate the release of their much anticipated debut new album.
Check out the teaser for the album below and be sure to pre-order here.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1nf2MZLsjw]
Holy Holy have revealed their upcoming album When The Storms Would Come will be released on July 17. The album promises to blend some of their greatest nostalgic influences such as Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits interwoven with contemporary flavours – already tried and tested on their Europe tour.
“There’s a real sort of dynamism and excitement and ability to build when we’re playing in a live setting,” Carroll said. “So, through being on the road and jamming in the studio, we have happened upon certain energies that really work.”
Most excitingly, they have hinted that their sound is going to move away from brooding and lean towards a more upbeat style – as is demonstrated in their latest single You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog which is whipped up with a little more intensity with the help of some ravenous guitar solos.
We spoke to Holy Holy last year after they’d started making traction with gorgeous single History, and they’ve come a long way since then – their sound has started developing into something identifiable and very powerful, so we’re pretty damn keen to hear the full album.
PS: HH also shared some our their favourite tunes with us. Read that right here.
Like all good artists, they also made a pretty sweet album trailer as well to get the excitement flowing:
It can be pre-ordered here on iTunes!
Holy Holy had a huge year last year, but it’s about time we heard some new material from them! After the release of their breakout single History, the bearded boys quickly caught the attention of the nation. Embarking on a massive national tour, with two further singles released, it seemed it was all systems go for them.
That was, of course, until their most recent release of You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog. Whatever bar they had set for themselves last year has not just been raised by this track, but completely obliterated and rebuilt miles above.
The blistering, soaring track is a huge development from Holy Holy. It is immediately reminiscent of the sounds only heard in their live setting, with huge guitar work, searing solos and passionate vocals. The song swells beautifully under the sharp guitar and harmonies, with lyrics that cut right to the core. They could have easily left the song here, and it would have still been a pretty good Holy Holy song, but it’s the extended instrumental outro that completely steals the show, and makes it so much more than that.
It was only a matter of time before this band garnered international attention, so it’s no surprise at all that they will be bringing their live show to Europe and the UK this May! See below for details, and cross your fingers they play some more home shows in the very near future!
HOLY HOLY tour dates:
Thurs 14 May, Brighton UK
The Great Escape
Tix here
Sun 17 May, Amsterdam NL
London Calling Festival
Tix here
Tues 19 May, Ghent BE
Cafe Video
Free entry
Fri 22 May, Manchester UK
Dot to Dot Festival
Tix here
Sat 23 May, Liverpool UK
Liverpool Sound City
Tix here
Sat 23 May, Bristol UK
Dot to Dot Festival
Tix here
Sun 24 May, Nottingham UK
Dot to Dot Festival
Tix here
Tues 26 May, London UK
Old Blue Last
Tix here
Holy Holy have had a year to remember. Two releases, two headline tours, support tours with Boy & Bear and Ball Park Music, three songs on high Triple J rotation. Next, they’re touring with The Preatures, as well as heading out on another tour in support of their latest single History.
I’m almost scared to think about what’s going to happen in their next year.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Tim and Oscar (from Brisbane and Melbourne respectively) while they were in town with Boy & Bear. This tour sees them playing some of Australia’s most gorgeous, iconic venues – Brisbane’s The Tivoli, Sydney’s Opera House, Melbourne’s Palais Theatre and more. “It’s an opportunity to do something special on stage,” says singer-songwriter Tim. “We get to be really creative. We’ve been playing music for a long time, so these opportunities are the best.”
Concert halls – especially seated venues like the Sydney Opera House, are a different experience altogether to playing at small bars and other venues. “It’s hard to compare anything else to them,” says Oscar. “People sit down, they’re listening. You can really feel as though you’re being heard.”
“That being said, we played Brighton Up Bar a while ago,” Tim adds. (For those unfamiliar, Brighton Up Bar has a capacity of 120. Basically, think of the Opera House. Now think of the opposite.) “There was this little PA and we were cramped into this corner stage. It was fun, it was sweaty.”
Is playing at such different venues a challenge? “Well we’ve done a lot of touring now, so the nerves have gone,” says Tim. “But I definitely get into a mindset where you realise there’s a thousand people watching. You wanna provide them with something, and make a connection to them all.”
Is stage presence something that Holy Holy think about? Not really. They don’t play with theatrics – what’s most important to them, is loving the music. “The biggest part is just really enjoying the music, being present on stage,” says Oscar. “If you’re doing that, your job is mostly done. People can smell it, they always know if you’re not into it.”
The “holy grail,” as Tim called it, is that Holy Holy love Holy Holy’s music. They go on to describe how they use certain songs as ‘tricks’ or triggers to draw themselves – and the audience – in. There’s this jam in If I were You, and we build into it, then drop out into a drum solo. I notice that there’s always this focus in the room. It’s just this section that pulls us into the music. We’re feeling, and the audience is feeling it. It works.”
By all accounts, Holy Holy have hit the nail on the head. They’re passionate about their own music, and it shows. “I don’t remember having a bad show,” says Tim. “We just enjoy playing. The hard part is all the driving, and airports, and being broke as fuck.”
They’re driving around on this tour, mostly to accommodate for the expansive drums and amps which are too hard to fly. They’re flying over to WA, though, as the drive is a little too long (three days without stopping.)
“Some day I would like to do that drive,” says Oscar. “Apparently it’s quite a drive with all the kangaroos. The cars wait by the side of the road for road trains (massive trucks, essentially) to come through. Then they get in behind and follow it, because the road train just parts the sea of dead kangaroos.”
Anyway, after that “gruesome” anectode as Tim put it, the conversation then turns towards the video clip forHistory. While the shoot itself took around two days, this was mostly taken up by programming a motion control camera to rotate and move in the right ways. The band filmed from 8 am – 4 am, before having to be back on set at 6 am.
“And that morning was when we shot all the close-ups,” says Tim. “I’d been asleep for 45 minutes. It was like [singing the History melody..] ‘All I want….’ Is to die…”
Luckily, the video turned out beautifully – despite the early rise. You can view it right here:
One thing that Holy Holy are proud of is their creative freedom. They’ve hand-picked all of the support acts for their forthcoming tour, live sets and more. “We’re in a good situation where we’ve got support, but we still have creative control over our releases,” says Tim.
“It’s kinda how it has to be.”
Holy Holy have had a year to remember. Two releases, two headline tours, support tours with Boy & Bear and Ball Park Music, three songs on high Triple J rotation. Next, they’re touring with The Preatures, as well as heading out on another tour in support of their latest single History.
I’m almost scared to think about what’s going to happen in their next year.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Tim and Oscar (from Brisbane and Melbourne respectively) while they were in town with Boy & Bear. This tour sees them playing some of Australia’s most gorgeous, iconic venues – Brisbane’s The Tivoli, Sydney’s Opera House, Melbourne’s Palais Theatre and more. “It’s an opportunity to do something special on stage,” says singer-songwriter Tim. “We get to be really creative. We’ve been playing music for a long time, so these opportunities are the best.”
Concert halls – especially seated venues like the Sydney Opera House, are a different experience altogether to playing at small bars and other venues. “It’s hard to compare anything else to them,” says Oscar. “People sit down, they’re listening. You can really feel as though you’re being heard.”
“That being said, we played Brighton Up Bar a while ago,” Tim adds. (For those unfamiliar, Brighton Up Bar has a capacity of 120. Basically, think of the Opera House. Now think of the opposite.) “There was this little PA and we were cramped into this corner stage. It was fun, it was sweaty.”
Is playing at such different venues a challenge? “Well we’ve done a lot of touring now, so the nerves have gone,” says Tim. “But I definitely get into a mindset where you realise there’s a thousand people watching. You wanna provide them with something, and make a connection to them all.”
Is stage presence something that Holy Holy think about? Not really. They don’t play with theatrics – what’s most important to them, is loving the music. “The biggest part is just really enjoying the music, being present on stage,” says Oscar. “If you’re doing that, your job is mostly done. People can smell it, they always know if you’re not into it.”
The “holy grail,” as Tim called it, is that Holy Holy love Holy Holy’s music. They go on to describe how they use certain songs as ‘tricks’ or triggers to draw themselves – and the audience – in. There’s this jam in If I were You, and we build into it, then drop out into a drum solo. I notice that there’s always this focus in the room. It’s just this section that pulls us into the music. We’re feeling, and the audience is feeling it. It works.”
By all accounts, Holy Holy have hit the nail on the head. They’re passionate about their own music, and it shows. “I don’t remember having a bad show,” says Tim. “We just enjoy playing. The hard part is all the driving, and airports, and being broke as fuck.”
They’re driving around on this tour, mostly to accommodate for the expansive drums and amps which are too hard to fly. They’re flying over to WA, though, as the drive is a little too long (three days without stopping.)
“Some day I would like to do that drive,” says Oscar. “Apparently it’s quite a drive with all the kangaroos. The cars wait by the side of the road for road trains (massive trucks, essentially) to come through. Then they get in behind and follow it, because the road train just parts the sea of dead kangaroos.”
Anyway, after that “gruesome” anectode as Tim put it, the conversation then turns towards the video clip for History. While the shoot itself took around two days, this was mostly taken up by programming a motion control camera to rotate and move in the right ways. The band filmed from 8 am – 4 am, before having to be back on set at 6 am.
“And that morning was when we shot all the close-ups,” says Tim. “I’d been asleep for 45 minutes. It was like [singing the History melody..] ‘All I want….’ Is to die…”
Luckily, the video turned out beautifully – despite the early rise. You can view it right here:
One thing that Holy Holy are proud of is their creative freedom. They’ve hand-picked all of the support acts for their forthcoming tour, live sets and more. “We’re in a good situation where we’ve got support, but we still have creative control over our releases,” says Tim.
“It’s kinda how it has to be.”
THE HISTORY TOUR
THU 09 OCT | THE NORTHERN, BYRON BAY NSW | SUPPORTED BY SALVADARLINGS– FREE ENTRY SHOW
FRI 10 OCT | THE BRIGHTSIDE, BRISBANE QLD| SUPPORTED BY SALVADARLINGS – Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 25 OCT | THE DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN, DUNSBOROUGH WA| SUPPORTED BY METHYL ETHEL – Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SUN 26 OCT | THE AVIARY ROOFTOP, PERTH WA – FREE ENTRY SHOW
THU 30 OCT | TRANSIT BAR, CANBERRA ACT | SUPPORTED BY TAMBOURINE GIRLS & SLOW TURISMO – Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
FRI 31 OCT | RAD, WOLLONGONG NSW| SUPPORTED BY TAMBOURINE GIRLS – Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au | 1300 762 545 | All Oztix Outlets
SAT 01 NOV | NEWTOWN SOCIAL CLUB, SYDNEY NSW| SUPPORTED BY THE WALKING WHO – Tickets available from www.newtownsocialclub.com | 1300 724 867
FRI 07 NOV | JIVE, ADELAIDE SA| SUPPORTED BY GLASS SKIES – Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au | 1300 GET TIX | All Moshtix Outlets
SAT 08 NOV | NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE VIC |SUPPORTED BY LANKS & JIM LAWRIE – Tickets available fromwww.northcotesocialclub.com | 1300 724 867
Brisbane’s Holy Holy make riveting, emotionally-charged music, and are currently celebrating the release of their latest single, History. The band, at the core of which is duo Timothy Carroll and Oscar Dawson, are set to embark on a run of shows in support of Boy & Bear, before embarking on their own nationwide headline tour. In the midst of all this, Holy Holy will be appearing at Brisbane’s BIGSOUND showcase in just over a week. Read our feature with them here.
The two composers met while working in South-East Asia and have had a fascinating, somewhat serendipitous journey to finally become Holy Holy. We picked the brains of guitarist Oscar, to find out what songs inspire, enliven, relax him and so much more… and the results are pretty hilarious.
HOLY HOLY Presents: Favourite Tunes
- My favourite track to wake up to is… the news. Sorry – boring – but need a few moments to inject pure adrenaline into my heart before listening to music. IF I was to go through the violent trauma of waking to music… Jump by Van Halen.
- The best track for cooking is… Well, what am I cooking? Cooked a roast the other week and listened to The Best of The Hollies. Comfort music for comfort food. Was making breakfast the other day and listened to an old Split Enz record. I forget how good that band was. Spent some time over winter listening to Sharon Van Etten, to relax. I feel that cooking ought to be relaxing and sometimes listening to the wrong music leads to an undesirable culinary outcome.
- The best track for spring cleaning is… Jump by the Pointer Sisters – from the ‘Love Actually’ soundtrack – anything to force me to do it faster.
- The ultimate road trip track is… Although this isn’t a ‘track’, been listening to ‘90s Radio on Spotify lately – not sure if this is particularly enjoyable for reasons of nostalgia, or if it’s because the ‘90s are kinda trendy now. But the drive whizzes by.
- My favourite love song is… 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover by Paul Simon. Perhaps that isn’t quite the sentiment you are after though.
- The best track for sweet love makin’ is… Choke Me, Spank Me, Pull My Hair by Xzibit. Have you ever read the lyrics to that song? What a pile of shit.
- The track that always gets the party started is… Let’s Get Retarded by The Black Eyed Peas. This one really separates the wheat from the chaff and I know who my true friends are (please see next question).
- The best track to wind down a crowd is… Let’s Get Retarded by The Black Eyed Peas – this one clears out the party and I can finally relax with my only true friends (please see prior question).
- My favourite drunken karaoke track is… Boys Of Summer, Don Henley – mainly because the chorus vocal is so high – it’s basically impossible to hit for a singer such as myself (caveat: I’m not the vocalist in Holy Holy). Dutch courage will give me the gumption to give it a proper go.
- A song that always makes me cry is… Hard Out Here for a Pimp, by Three 6 Mafia. The daily struggle to make ends meet; the dangers of inner-city living in a modern dystopia; negotiating business deals with parties who might have conflicting interests. A tragic insight into the pitfalls of urban life.
- I love going to sleep listening to….. a podcast. Sorry. Can’t sleep listening to songs. Sleep and music have a funny relationship.
- I can’t stop dancing when I hear…. Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen. Ohhh Fredddie.
We couldn’t collate this into a precise tracklist unfortunately, but we did our best! Enjoy!
HOLY HOLY: THE HISTORY TOUR
THU 09 OCT | THE NORTHERN, BYRON BAY NSW – FREE ENTRY SHOW
FRI 10 OCT | THE BRIGHTSIDE, BRISBANE QLD – Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au
SAT 25 OCT | THE DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN, DUNSBOROUGH WA – Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au
SUN 26 OCT | THE AVIARY ROOFTOP, PERTH WA – FREE ENTRY SHOW
THU 30 OCT | TRANSIT BAR, CANBERRA ACT – Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au
FRI 31 OCT | RAD, WOLLONGONG NSW – Tickets available from www.oztix.com.au
SAT 01 NOV | NEWTOWN SOCIAL CLUB, SYDNEY NSW – Tickets available from www.newtownsocialclub.com
FRI 07 NOV | JIVE, ADELAIDE SA – Tickets available from www.moshtix.com.au
SAT 08 NOV | NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB, MELBOURNE VIC – Tickets available from www.northcotesocialclub.com


