Near Mint

Holy Fuck - Deleter [HF 001 USA 2020 FLAC]

Arriving at a moment where attention spans are short and anxieties are publicly exumed 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 krautrock and deep house’s dreamy ineffability, expertly blending purring motorik percussion with the sort of fuggy synthetic fizz, fudge and twang they have borrowed for all their fifteen years. 

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 is 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 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 - Michael Rother will be proud.

Not bad!

01 Luxe
02 Deleters
03 Endless
04 Free Gloss
05 Moment
06 Near Mint
07 No Error
08 San Sebastian
09 Ruby