There are two basic types of epic, grandiose music in contemporary indie rock. On one side, there are artists inspired by the likes of U2 and Jeff Buckley, where the vocals and lyrics take center stage and the music is there to support the strong personality of the lead singer. Then there are the post-rock bands, where vocals -- if they're part of the music at all -- are a minimal afterthought, treated as just another instrument: Sigur Rós, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Do Make Say Think, Explosions in the Sky, and to a great extent both Radiohead and Broken Social Scene. Rarely do bands attempt to marry showboating vocals to equally widescreen music, but that's the brief of Holler, Wild Rose!, a band that can be reductively but accurately described as a Jeff Buckley acolyte fronting a band that favors slow-building tension and dramatic release. Based in northern New Jersey, Holler, Wild Rose! originally formed in 2002 under the name aDive. Sensibly recognizing that a name change was in order, the nascent group took the name of one of their own songs, which later also became the opening track of their debut album. Settling into a final lineup of singer and guitarist John Mosloskie, lead guitarist Ryan Cheresnick, keyboardist and guitarist Mike Ortega, rhythm guitarist Lou D'Elia, bassist Scott Vangenderen, and drummer Ryan Smyth, Holler, Wild Rose! began recording their debut album in 2005. Signing to the new indie label Backlight Records and making their recorded debut with "Victory Shine," a contribution to the label's debut compilation, Other Songs and Dances, Vol. 1 (alongside acts like Duncan Sheik and Vesper), in 2006, Holler, Wild Rose! released their debut album, Our Little Hymnal, in the fall of 2007. ~ Stewart Mason