After the success of last year's exceptional EP, With U, and extensive touring with like-minded labelmates Balam Acab and oOoOO, the shroud of mystery surrounding Manchester-based Holy Other is slowly beginning to diminish. The still nameless R&B-influenced vocal splicer, known for his emotional slow burns and cloak-covered live appearances, has preferred to remain in the shadows of his dreamy beats. He only recently has begun participating in interviews and the first photo of the artist's face was unveiled just last week, along with the opportunity to stream his debut full-length album, Held, out now on Tri-Angle records. Even with all this new information on the man behind the music, the mystique has remained intact. Not that any of that matters once you get lost in Holy Other's brand of lustful, haunted pop. With U has a decidedly nocturnal, urban atmosphere and Held continues this trend with nine tightly constructed tracks that are as spectral as they are sensual.
Holy Other's catalogue spans no more than 30 tracks, but contains some of the sexiest and most affecting music committed to record. All of this is achieved without a single verse or chorus – hell, even discernible lyrics for that matter. A dark labyrinth of smoky beats and often unintelligible, circulating croons, the crisp and cold Held is no exception to this accomplishment. Holy Other's M.O. is familiar: a lurching, moody beat shrouded with splintered vocal samples that create a tension similar to the juke-influenced Sully - but with an effortlessly captivating force that has no contender. This may seem like an overdone formula in a world where R&B seems to be skewed in all directions, but in Holy Other's hands, the formula creates haunted love songs that creep under your skin and inhabit the dark corners of your mind. Each ghostly vocal pitch-shift strikes just the right nerve to evoke so much more than lyrics ever could. Even through the icy darkness Holy Other crafts, there's a warmth that can be felt, but only at a distance. Like recalling a night of passion with a former lover, the memory has the power to both hurt and comfort you. Held, even with its lack of appropriate lyrics, captures this feeling of love found and love lost, almost acting as a breakup record, a makeup record, and everything in between.
"Know Where" from 2011's With U EP