I can relate to the concept of hibernation. A seasonal heterothermy characterised by a low-body temperature, slow breathing and heart rate, hibernation is nature's great reset. The Brown Bear for example, will retreat to a den to stay warm and avoid the lack of abundant food options by simply sleeping; there's no fast food restaurants with central heating in the middle of nowhere. As is usually the case, nature is rarely wrong.
It may lose a vast amount of it's body weight and barely be able to walk by the time spring has come around, but the Brown Bear is on to something. We should all be more like the Brown Bear when it's blowing a gale outside. We're not a Brown Bear though, we're bloody human beings. Stubborn, self obsessed and often rather unpleasant strolling into the abyss with breathtaking levels of arrogance..
But enough about me.
Floating between the vibrant scenes of North Wales and North West of England for the past couple of years have been Holy Gloam. Based around the songs of experienced musician and songwriter Julian Neale, the band have produced several exceptional singles that I almost certainly should have written about at some point. Released by Shipwrecked Records, it's no coincidence that the songs made their way to the ear of Bill Ryder Jones, who took them up on production duties.
Current Single 'Numberless, Nontheless' is a fine example of their ability to craft such cascading soundscapes. The intro is the kind of soaring melodic fair that Coldplay and Sigur Ros haven't been able to write in 20 years, working as the foundations that the rest of mix hangs too. Neale's vocals are pensive and add an extra atmospheric layer to the mood that has already been established early on. The dymamics shift creating a very different feel as the track evolves; breezy, chiming guitars contrast with a crunchier tone, coming close to intersecting with the emotional depth of Mogwai. There is a melancholy here, but it's underpinned by the most important word in the English language:
Hope.
The track comes with a video that sees Neale roaming around the North Wales coastline in all it's rugged glory. Watch it below.
A member of NNWNF favourites Gintis, Neale writes songs that worm their way in and refuse to leave, like some kind of beautifully melodic interloper laying claim to squatters rights on your soul. Or a Brown Bear in a resolute state of hibernation.
In other word, they're bloody good.
You can follow and find out more about Holy Gloam on Facebook, X, Instagram
As always, we recommend you swerve the streaming sites and buy direct from the band on Bandcamp, because artists have to eat at some point too.
You can help support independent, alternative music writing for the price of a coffee at the Q.R code above.
I heard caffeine makes you jibber jabber like a crazy fool anyway..
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