Holy Fool - “Queen of the Dead”
Friends, neighbors, brothers and sisters, we share with you today the fantastic sounds of Scottish duo Holy Fool and their latest dark and gritty delight, “Queen of the Dead.”
A swift drum fill sets this one ablaze, quickly joined by ghostly background vocals– to be perfectly honest, it was this series of “ooohs” that led us to immediately saying yes (if you’ve ever read a single page of our blog, you will know that ‘ooohs’ are one of our greatest weaknesses). “Queen of the Dead” has all those bits of ear candy that cause it to be reminiscent of any noteworthy Tarantino soundtrack, which just so happens to be our niche for gritty Americana.
The vibe here is one that causes you to imagine it strewn before a desert backdrop, buzzards circling, a dark figure in the distance, blurred from the burning sun. The rhythm section is of the tight, lo-fi variety, held together here with some thick, vintage compression. And, quite frankly, if a song can do all of this before the vocal even begins, it deserves a spot on all of your playlists. But once the lyrics start pouring in, we find them to be delivered in the perfect manner to suit this song. A quick comparison would be Lord Huron, who are also known for their dusty productions and, in fact, one of our all-time faves.
This delicious morsel of folksy goodness is so tasty that we had to dig a bit deeper into the Holy Fool catalogue. And what we found there did not disappoint. The duo’s June offering, “Winter Coat,” has every bit of grit as “Queen of the Dead,” opening with an elongated wave of feedback from a guitar. The rhythm is just a bit more upbeat here, with plenty of down-and-dirty moments of distortion, leaving it firmly planted within the realm of indie rock, while also quenching the thirst of that previously mentioned Americana-sweet-spot.
There are rumors of a future EP release, and after hearing both of these singles, you can guarantee that it won’t be the last time Holy Fool find their way onto our blog.
-HD