Sydney’s synth rockers, The Holidays, follow their Australian Music Prize-nominated debut with an equally promising second album.
Bursting onto the scene in 2010 with 'Post Paradise', the three-piece captivated listeners with their anthemic brand of synth-infused summer pop.
Unsurprisingly, when it came to following up their success with a second album, the pressure began to mount. “I'd love to be able to say that it was a reasonably smooth transition from record to record but if I'm being completely honest, it was quite difficult,” admits bassist Alex Kortt.
“It was more because of the pressure that we put on ourselves, we wanted to make what we thought was a genuinely better record or at least as good as what we felt the first one was. We also wanted to do something that we felt was slightly different while staying true to what people liked about the band in the first place.”
Inspired by lead singer Simon Jones' solo travels to Berlin, London, Paris and Tokyo, 'Real Feel' leans towards a more electronic vibe without losing The Holidays' trademark tropical flavour. “We started out as just a guitar band and that's essentially what we still are so the more organic sounds are always going to be the basis of what we do. The electronic part of it is more about textures and adding to the overall sound.”
As wonderful as production wizardry is, Kortt emphasises the importance of creating songs that sound good when stripped back to basics. “Towards the end of making 'Real Feel', we went back and went through seven or eight of the songs and played them on an acoustic guitar and they still sounded good.
“That reassured us that we still had songs there rather than studio productions. With the live show, we try and recreate the songs and do everything as it has been recorded, but when you strip it all back and there's still a song there, that's when you know you've got a tune.”
The band will road test their new material next month as they embark on an 11-date national tour. “We've put our hearts and souls into this record so I guess this tour will be a good gage of whether people are feeling it or not!”
Written by Phoebe Hurst
‘Real Feel’ is released February 21.
The Holidays Tour Dates
Thu Mar 06 - Elsewhere (Gold Coast)Fri Mar 07 - The Zoo (Brisbane)
Sat Mar 08 - The Spotted Cow (Toowoomba)
Thu Mar 13 - Transit Bar (Canberra)
Fri Mar 14 - Oxford Art Factory (Sydney)
Thu Mar 20 - The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Fri Mar 21 - Karova Lounge (Ballarat)
Sat Mar 22 - Waratah Hotel (Hobart)
Fri Mar 28 - Jive (Adelaide)
Sat Mar 29 - The Rosemount (Perth)
Sun Mar 30 - The Newport (Fremantle)
