Cellophane

Cellophane

Holy Holy have always flexed unusual versatility, but the Australian duo covers more ground than ever on their fifth album. More than half of the songs feature a prominent guest vocalist from across varied genres, while Sydney electronic act Bag Raiders contribute production on some of the tracks. Tim Carroll has said that he and co-founder Oscar Dawson approached the band more like a “songwriting factory” here, making the most of these outside collaborations after creating 2021’s Hello My Beautiful World alone during lockdown. Cellophane opens with Medhanit’s neo-soul cameo on the Auto-Tune-twisted “Neon St”, before taking clubby turns like “Pretend to Be” and the Tasman Keith teamup “This Time”. Carroll’s weightless falsetto remains a distinctive calling card for Holy Holy, sounding equally at home on the tightly wound guitar pop of “People Change” and the ruminative folk of “Rosé”. Tasmanian duo Sumner help to make “Ready” a persistent earworm pulsing away with synths, while rapper Kwame lends adds emotional weight to The Postal Service-esque lead single, “Messed Up”. On the closing title track, Swedish solo artist Many Voices Speak adds daydreamy softness to the grand psych-pop finale, finishing off the record with a cheering communal sing-along.

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