The Colorado-based Alternative band Holdfast releases the first ear-pleasing single off their upcoming album with "Walls." Consisting of brothers Tommy and Mikey, and their cousin Charlie Maddocks, Holdfast. continues to garner Colorado's attention through their exhilarating sound and equally stimulating live performances, which the boys deeply reminisce.
Through their lead single "Walls" to their upcoming album "Stay and Fight," arriving in January 2021, Holdfast. channels the utmost strength within this single and allows listeners to feel every inch of each emotion exuding from this Alternative hi-fi tune. With a sound similar to Bad Suns, Muse, and The 1975, we can't stop replaying this dynamic piece.
"Walls" opens with distorted electric guitar and layered rhythm guitar delivering thrilling melodies that shoot us into the stars. The lead vocalist begins telling a deep story of playing along with someone's unpredictable ways, the surrounding instrumentation lessons to merely deliver a gripping drum kick and faint keys. Once the hook makes its entrance, we're vastly impressed and swooned by Holdfast.'s stimulating and thrilling instrumentation. The up-tempo drums and layered electric guitar offer a heated atmosphere alongside superbly layered vocals that push an incredibly unique sonic approach that we can't get enough of.
To sum it up, Holdfast.'s single is a classic. From each sweltering melody to the instrumental keyboards and electric guitars, not to mention the lead singer's raw vocals, "Walls" captures the listener's attention from beginning to end.
We're sincerely impressed with your textured and dynamic single, "Walls." Could you take us through the song's lyrical concept surrounding a troubled relationship? What message did you want listeners to take away?
My cousins and I recorded "Walls" along with the rest of the album back in June of 2019. During that time, the three of us were still living in the same cul-de-sac in Windsor, CO, where we would jam in my parents' basement. Mike, our bassist, always wanted to have a bass-heavy song to riff on during live shows; in the weeks leading up to our recording session at The Blasting Room, we came up with the Walls riff, and I wrote the lyrics in the shower the next day. It all sort of came together in a couple of days. While one person might view Walls as a song about a troubled relationship, we wanted the song to have a greater scope than just that. Chris Beeble, our friend and producer at The Blasting Room, really helps us make sure our songs can apply to all types of people and experiences. I hope that people can resonate with the song's message of "putting up walls," meaning sometimes you have to put up boundaries in order to protect yourself or other people.
Speaking on the blistering instrumentals within "Walls," did you capture these fluctuating instrumentals to represent our inner emotions that frequently change?
I totally see what you mean by changing emotions. With writing songs, we only have 4 or 5 minutes tops to tell a story. One thing we learned from working with Chris Beeble is that every second in a song counts, and we have to tell our story in a clear direction. While there are lyrical moments that stand out in Walls as "hopeful," its overall message is "an acceptance of moving on." With the instrumentals, we didn't really discuss what it should mean. Tommy, our drummer, played this crazy, primal beat when we first played through it - and that was just it, we built everything around the riff and the drumbeat.
What was your creative process like when building your fiery and stimulating instrumentals for "Walls"? What foundation did you begin with, and how did you build the rest of the sonics on top of that?
Our favorite bands are British rock bands or European in general. So, I guess we took a lot of inspiration from that sound and culture. We love bands like Catfish and The Bottlemen, The Hunna, Circa Waves, Muse, U2, just to name a few. We always watch videos of old Glastonbury performances and still dream of the day we can play festivals like that. Seeing the crowd reactions to these bands’ hit songs inspired us to write something that’d be fun to play live. Walls is one of those moments in our show that is definitely a highlight for all three of us.
Regarding your upcoming debut album "Stay and Fight" to be released on January 8th, 2021, why did you choose "Walls" to lead the way of the album's singles? How does "Walls" tie in with the overall project?
We chose Walls to launch our debut album because it’s the first track on the tracklist. It’s the introduction into the story being told on “Stay and Fight.” We can’t wait to see our fans’ reactions once the whole thing is out. It’s an album that is best listened to from top to bottom.
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
During the era of COVID, we’ve been very fortunate to have things to do as a band. We’re happy to live in an area (Northern Colorado) where live music is loved and supported. Since COVID happened, we’ve still managed to have a variety of shows, from drive-in concerts to house shows put on by local radio. It’s inspiring to see how everyone in the music industry continues to adapt in 2020. We’ve had the privilege of collaborating with so many creative people that have helped us get to this one moment. A particular moment of inspiration for us was being on set for the Walls music video for the first time. Seeing a full film crew working on dozens of different things at the same time was really humbling. Ryan Frazee directed the music video and really brought the whole visual idea/story to life. He’s worked with so many great artists, and we’re so excited to finally be able to work with him. It reminded us that this band can continue to grow if we collaborate with people outside just the three of us, and let all of our voices be heard through Holdfast.