Spanish label Dead Wax has just released an album with the first seven tracks released by the Cape Town band Holograph. Holograph delivers great post-punk with touches of shoegaze. In addition to the complete production of the band, the album comes with two remixes by Germán Sánchez (AKA MNDVL and member of Des Âmes Libres) and Andrew Boult. The vinyl has been released in green color and can be purchased on the label’s bandcamp.
Holograph was born during the pandemic: Warren Fisher, Ines Soutschka and Desmond Kannemeyer were flatmates who fought the confinement by composing songs. As soon as they were able to leave home, they rushed to the studio to record their first tracks. “From Within” released in May 2021, featuring vocals by Ines Soutschka, is a sample of the band’s more post-punk side, with “Microscopic Beings” being another example of their more edgy tracks. In contrast, the following song, “Hollow Mountain” and “Cheerleading” show the intensity of Warren Fisher’s compositions. In 2022 they released three new tracks, all of them with Ines on lead vocals: the solemn “Forget the Things You’ve Said”, the powerful post-punk of “Swedish Summer”, perfect to open an album and the mysterious “Glass Eyes”, a kind of experiment according to the band’s comments. The first remix, by MNDVL, makes “Swedish Summer” more danceable with more prominence of a hard percussion and rhythmic part while he gives a touch of mystery to “Microscoping Beings”. Andrew Boult is in charge of giving a disburbing twist to “Fron Within” with very good results.
I would like to end this post, with a few words about the Madrid-based label. In these years since the appearance of its first reference in 2013, the label has maintained a good balance between releasing new bands and recovering gems from the past. Among the new acts, I must highlight Twin Tribes, who released on Dead Wax their album Shadows in 2018, Dês Ames Libres, Gwendoline, This Cold Night or Farblos. Among the material from the past, I should mention Days of Sorrow (who have also released their new material on the Madrid-based label), Aimless Device, Burning Skies of Elysium, Disciples of Spess or This Etarnal Waiting to name just a few.
