Holograms - 'Holograms'

HOLOGRAMS
Holograms

Captured Tracks, 2012

• Favorites:

  "Chasing My Mind," "ABC City," "Fever"

• FLAVORS:

  Opiates, Lavender, Tin Foil On Your Teeth, Nail Polish Remover

RATING:

TRACK LIST:

• Monolith
• Chasing My Mind
• Orpheo
• Memories Of Sweat
• Transform
• Apostate
• ABC City
• Stress
• Ashtray
• A Tower
• Fever
• You Are Ancient (Sweden's Pride)

I remember the first time I did MDMA. I was living in a crappy two-bedroom apartment in a sleepy island town. I was madly in love with a skateboarder who liked to paint. We listened to a lot of ambient music and obsessed over Ralph Steadman.

One night, we decided to take these little white capsules some creep promised would fuck us up. We stood in my kitchen drinking beer and waiting for the pills to kick in and stared at each other. Soon, the drugs did that beautiful thing that drugs do when they start to take over your blood stream like a disease. That warm-as-piss-but-cozy-as-a-duvet feeling sweeps into your back, your knees and your hands. I remember we put on some mix CD that a guy at my university gave me. I ended up peeking to the handclap break down (you know, when the drums kick in) in Ted Leo and the Pharmacist’s song, “Timorous Me,” but after hearing Holograms' self-titled LP, I wish this band had been around for my first MDMA high.

Holograms are deeply Swedish. They even have a song called “You Are Ancient (Sweden’s Pride).” Swedish punks keep militant timing. The drum beats always make you feel like you should be marching somewhere, while the guitars and keys often ring wild and spastic. Holograms' LP is what I would refer to as MDMA music. It’s danceable, dark, and driving. The bass tones sound like someone had thrown the instrument at a wall and then plugged in. It’s glossy in the right places, but remains militant in melody, making it a perfect merge of punk record and dance party. In essence, Holograms makes me want to be 18-years-old again, trotting around my very own apartment, half-naked, with my skateboarder boyfriend, happily high as fuck.