| Holographic Violence | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 24, 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:44 | |||
| Label | Hardly Art | |||
| Grave Babies chronology | ||||
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Holographic Violence is an album by American rock band Grave Babies. It was released on July 24, 2017, through Sub Pop-affiliated Hardly Art record label. [1] It is the band's first album to be recorded in a studio. [2]
Cameron Cook of Pitchfork regarded the album as a transition from band's previous garage rock sound in favor of gothic rock influences. [3] The A.V. Club critic Chris Mincher stated: "Documenting that exploration, Holographic Violence sifts through various ’80s dark-wave styles in the hunt for worthy concepts, finding serviceable elements of goth-rock, post-punk, grunge, alt-metal, and industrial electronica." [4] AllMusic's Paul Simpson wrote: "While still dark and dingy, the relatively cleaner production brings the group closer to sounding like its '80s deathrock heroes, while the overly dramatic bent and tongue-in-cheek song titles like "Pain Iz Pleasure" recall a less metal, lower-budget version of Type O Negative." Simpson also noted that "the group isn't stuck in the past (be it the goth '80s, the alt-metal '90s, or the late-2000s lo-fi cassette boom) by including a few up-to-date production effects, particularly the subtle influence of trap-style beats on the drum machine programming." [2] According to The Irish Times ' "Taking as their base of reference the still-in-fashion 1980s blend of post-punk (The Cure) and goth-rock (Sisters of Mercy) – with hints of Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana." [5]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| The A.V. Club | B− [4] |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Irish Times | [5] |
| Pitchfork | 6.4/10 [3] |
The album generally received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic's Paul Simpson wrote: "The overall result is a forward-looking album drawing from dark, foreboding sounds from the past, and it's a decent, spooky listen, if a bit hard to take seriously at times." [2] The A.V. Club critic Chris Mincher commented: "Taking a more airy, atmospheric approach than its pummeling predecessors, Holographic Violence strives for melodic melancholy, yet can’t resist breaking out the occasional bright, shimmery hook or synth flourish" [4] The Irish Times's Tony Clayton-Lea stated: "Founding member Danny Wahlfeldt has taken it upon himself to tackle all of the songwriting, and while there are sci-fi concept themes here that are too oppressive if not ordinary (the usual unholy trinity of dystopia, nihilism and misanthropy), at least the music mostly makes up for it." [5] Cameron Cook of Pitchfork wrote: "In the end, though, Violence comes off as transitional, a building block for a bigger, darker, blacker record that may be in Grave Babies' future." [3]
