Delicate Holly
Love • Hate • Control
Release date: 27th April 2015
Formed in the spring of 2013, Delicate Holly quickly gained a fanbase on their local scene of Cheltenham playing plenty of shows in the area. Since then they have supported the likes of The Subways and Coasts, they’ve had many festival sets and headlined plenty of shows. After all this experience the band are now releasing their debut EP ‘Love. Hate. Control.’ which sees a mix of fan favourites and band best bits and this first release will be marked with an intimate show at the band’s first ever gig venue, Two Pigs in Cheltenham.
The 4 track EP kicks of with ‘Full Body Cast’ which starts with numbers being punched into a phone leading into vocals with a huge rock and roll swagger to them. It is a great and memorable vocal that commands your attention with its grandiose tone and harmonising qualities. The drums and bass create an uptempo rhythm while the guitar line adds some great melodies into the mix. This really is a great song and it’s easy to see why this is a fan favourite.
Next up is ‘Jaws’, an awesome rhythm section of quick bass chord changes and padding drums starts this off. There is an old school sound to this one, reminding you of the rock, jazz and blues of the past all mixed into one but with a modern twist through the electric guitar solos. Yet again the vocals reign supreme but with a slightly more gritty tone adding to that rock edge.
A hugely dramatic opening of slightly threatening strums and pounding drum beats makes ‘Rain-O-Rack’ a track you can’t help but listen to from the very first notes. When the vocals come in they fit that commanding nature with their rock grit shouted at you throughout but somehow they manage to maintain a certain level of harmony especially in the verses. A huge and very impressive song.
In complete contrast, ‘Lemon Man’ starts off slowly and delicately with softly strummed guitar and lightly hit drums. The vocals have also softened and are more about creating dulcet tones and soaring moments here. It may be slower and more flowing than the last but it still remains epic in its delivery, especially when it comes to the colossal choruses. There really is that classic old school rock and roll ballad sound to this and it is truly wonderful to see a modern day band taking on that kind of track and making it their own for 2015.
This is a very accomplished release from a band who are only just releasing their first body of work. All that time on the road has clearly helped them find their sound and learn their craft but ultimately there is some great talent in this band and it can truly be found on this debut EP.
Check out the band’s performance of ‘Lemon Man’ from Gloucester’s Guildhall last year below:
To find out more about Delicate Holly visit their website, their Facebook page, their YouTube page or you can follow them on Twitter – @DelicateHolly
Credits
Mixtape Couture 
