Review: Holy Holy at Freo.Social

Holy Holy at Freo.Social
w/ Kwame, Clews
Saturday, May 20, 2023

Melbourne duo Holy Holy have expanded their sound and their fan base over the past few years, and both came together for an enjoyable sold-out performance at Freo.Social on Saturday night.

First up on the night were Sydney-based sister duo Clews, who performed a pared-back acoustic set. While the duo’s vocals were in good form, the overdriven guitars and rock drums that are such an integral part of the group’s recorded output were missed.

Kwame was next, and in direct contrast to the laid-back nature of the opener, was hot and firing on all cylinders. The rapper continually urged the crowd to match his energy throughout his set, as he skipped, hopped and jumped through a set of fast-paced hip hop bangers.

Holy Holy’s entrance after Kwame took the pace off a bit, starting with Stand Where I’m Standing, which could easily soundtrack a montage scene in an eighties film, before building the hype back up with the rocking, guitar-heavy History.

Expanded to a four-piece live, Holy Holy's drummer and bassist were on point right through the performance. Multi-instrumentalist Oscar Dawson popped out from behind his keyboard to deliver his classic rock guitar solos at the lip of the stage at every opportunity, while vocalist Timothy Carroll clenched his fist and furrowed his brow when delivering his heartfelt vocals.

The pop-chorus of Believe Anything got the crowd grooving, as did the gentle synths and hooky chorus of Savage Garden-meets-early-Depeche Mode-sounding How You Been.

Clews came back on stage as backup singers and added an extra something special to the sound and visuals with their impressive harmonies, onstage energy and dancing. Similarly, Kwame also provided a visual feast when he returned to star on the group’s new collab single, Messed Up.

The upbeat Frida, from the group’s 2019 My Own Pool of Light, worked splendidly in the live arena, as did the slower Sentimental and Monday, while That Message felt a little flat in comparison.

True Lovers ended the main set and soared through the venue with its anthemic indie concatenation of Justin Timberlake and Richard Ashcroft.

Returning for an encore, Carroll played acoustic guitar on a stripped-back version of St Petersburg before Clews joined the band again for 2017 hit Elevator with its driving Springsteen-esque drumming.

Despite their shifts in genre, Holy Holy's output is remarkably cohesive due to its highly polished, Eighties-pop production. This has evidently served the group well in finding airplay, but sometimes it detracts from, rather than enhances the authenticity and uniqueness of their sound.

In their current genre-stepping state, Holy Holy's set could serve as a mix-tape composed of fun, and at times, ironic spins of eighties classics that would keep the mood pumping at indie nights or house parties til the early hours of the morning.

MICHAEL HOLLICK

Photos by Linda Dunjey