Holy Fuck – Congrats

Holy... shit. Chimes Broken, the opening track to the saintly, sweary Canadians’ surprise new album will smack you in the teeth, twice. Three times, even. Holy Fuck have crammed a fistful of heart-racing, adrenaline-pumping club bangers into a blender, and smashed the result through a sieve (with a hammer). If you’re still hanging on, white-knuckled, by the mid-track EDM build that evaporates into a full-frontal assault, then you know you’ve got the guts for the rest of the record; Congrats.

Holy Fuck are back, and they sound lean, mean and punk as... y'know, fuck. Congrats isn't all hell for leather, though. Neon Dad transcends its surroundings to become a mirage of shimmering melody and angelic, choral voices. But the peace doesn't last long; House of Glass is built on shards of funk, only to be ritually demolished by a sound which can only be described as lasers. From massive, bashy beginnings, Congrats opens out into an album of very real, ripped-rule-book excitement; it’s exhausting and exhilarating and wonderful. Roll out the red carpet, Holy Fuck deserve it.