Holy Fuck needed a break.
It wasn’t too much to ask for, was it? The Canadian noise merchants, known for somehow playing ‘electronica’ without laptops or programmed backing tracks, had toured steadily from 2006 to 2011. There had been shows in Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand.
They’d spent endless summers playing European festivals (including a memorable stage invasion by hundreds of fans at Barcelona’s Primavera). Coachella, Lollapalooza, a tour with MIA, a destroyed van, feuds with the Canadian government, swine flu — it all got to be too much after a while.
So they took that break. But a funny thing happened on the way to a little goddamn peace and quiet — they had babies, they adopted pets, they produced records for other artists (like Metz and Lights), they started new bands, they even got together to play international festivals and small venues under secret names. They just didn’t know how to quit.
So now they’re back, secure in the knowledge their fans will be waiting with open arms. "We all really want nothing more than to have a loyalty from our fans," frontman Brian Borcherdt says. "It’s sort of everything you want... You just really want people to stand by you and trust what you’re going to do."
Work is well underway on the band’s fourth album; Borcherdt says fans can expect a more refined sound, as the process behind creating the record has changed since their last LP, ‘Latin’. "We were sort of coming up with ideas as we went [on 'Latin']… so it kind of reflected a lot of energy." The group’s constant tour schedule has traditionally made it difficult to record and write music. This time around, they’ve made a conscious effort to set aside time to create the album.
"We wanted to work as a lot of bands do where we could just go into a studio and write new material and kind of flush it, take it to the stage and play it in front of people… iron out the wrinkles and get back in and record it again," Borcherdt explains.
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The group's clip for 'Red Lights' grabbed a lot of attention when it was released in 2010, and they’ve already started planning ways to top it this time around. "[When you] spend a lot of time in the van together, you come up with funny ideas... so we have lots more ideas. I wont give any away!"
Although the band has gotten back together, Borcherdt is still hopeful he can find time to collaborate with other artists like Metz and Lights. "It’s just a matter of if all these pieces fall together … it’s just hard when you’re trying to balance everything."
Holy Fuck Tour Dates:
Thu Apr 24 — The Zoo (Fortitude Valley)Wed Apr 30 — Northcote Social Club
Thu May 01 — The Brisbane Hotel (Hobart)
Wed May 07 — Goodgod Small Club (Sydney)
Thu May 08 — Rosemount Hotel (Perth)
Fri May 09 — The Odd Fellow (Fremantle)
They'll also tour with Groovin The Moo:
Fri Apr 25 — Oakbank (SA)Sat Apr 26 — Maitland (NSW)
Sun Apr 27 — Canberra (ACT)
Sat May 3 — Bendigo (VIC)
Sun May 4 — Townsville (QLD)
Sat May 10 — Bunbury (WA)
