Holding Absence – The Greatest Mistake Of My Life – Album Review
Holding Absence have come of age on their second album. As soon as you press play, you are welcomed by a more mature sounding band. By the time you finish listening you feel that the band may have just created their masterpiece.
The Welsh group has seen a number of line-up changes since their formation in 2015, with the most recent being the loss of bassist James Joseph at the start of this year. Oddly that means that there are now no founding members remaining in the group. This may be a problem that often befalls older acts of yesteryear, but rarely a child age band.
This is however the same group of members that released their self-titled debut album in 2019. Now returning with their follow up album, this is the group that should take the band into the future. And with a release like ‘The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’ that future is set to be bright.
WATCH ‘CELEBRATION SONG’ ON YOUTUBE!
Holding Absence – ‘Celebration Song’
This is an uplifting, soaring effort from the band with ‘Celebration Song’ and ‘Curse Me With Your Kiss’ setting the tone early. That’s before the magnificent ‘Afterlife’ bursts out of the pack as the anthemic highlight of a very good bunch of songs.
There are moments of grandeur that harness the bands expansive sound spread throughout ‘The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’. These help to capture a moment in time when a band takes a step up to the next level.
Holding Absence have been a band with great promise, now they are a band that has delivered on that promise. The world is there for the taking and you couldn’t go far wrong by betting on this band to capture it!
Every week we roundup the best music news from the past week in our News Report. To stay up to date with the biggest news be sure to follow us on our social channels:
Music Venue Trust address a year without Live Music
We begin this week’s roundup of the best music news with a somewhat sombre milestone. This week marked an entire calendar year since most music venues hosted their last show and closed their doors.
With the coronavirus pandemic continuing, but with a glimmer of hope on the horizon, the Music Venue Trust has issued a pertinent statement. The trust has worked tirelessly to cement the future of live music.
Without our grassroots venues future talent would have nowhere to hone their craft. Many will be forever grateful to the Music Venue Trust for their work during this unique and terrifying year. You can read their full statement on their Facebook page here.
Following the recent government roadmap announcement, our weekly roundup has been dominated with festival news. This week however we have some great tour news and fantastic new music to share with you.
First up is the incredible Wolf Alice, who have just unveiled a lengthy tour around the UK. The run of 13 shows will commence in Glasgow on Friday 7th January and end in Bristol on Sunday 30th.
The tour will give fans the opportunity to hear songs from the bands upcoming third album ‘Blue Weekend’ live. Fans who pre-order that album from their official/Dirty Hit’s store will get early access to tickets from Wednesday 24th March. General Sale for tickets is Friday 26th March.
Another band to announce a massive tour this week is Architects. Having seen their latest album, ‘For Those That Wish To Exist’ hit the number one spot, the band are hitting arenas.
Taking in five massive venues across the UK, this tour promises to be very special indeed. To be there, grab your tickets here.
As festivals across the country continue to sell out in the wake of the roadmap announcement by government, we had to bring you one line-up on our News Report! This week we bring news from Camper Calling which is set to take place August 27-29 in Warwickshire.
Topping the line-up are Supergrass and Manic Street Preachers. There will also be appearances from The Pigeon Detectives, Embrace and The Magic Numbers alongside an eclectic mix of acts. If you like what you see, you can grab your tickets here.
Myles Kennedy reveals ‘The Ides of March’
Myles Kennedy – ‘The Ides Of March’
Now, it’s the time in our News Report to run through the best new releases this week.
Myles Kennedy recently announced the release of his second solo album, ‘The Ides of March’. This week Kennedy unveiled the title track, which you can check out above. To pre-order the album head here.
There isn’t long left for fans to wait for the new Holding Absence album. ‘The Greatest Mistake Of My Life’ arrives on April 16th and you can pre-order you copy here.
In preparation of the records release, the band have this week released the latest single ‘In Circles’, which you can check out above.
This week is been a great week for new music as we were also treated to ‘Smouldering Sticks’, the new single from Press To Meco. The band are gearing up for the release of their new album ‘Transmute’ on June 11th. You can pre-add/save here.
Lauran Hibberd teams up with Lydia Night for ‘How Am I Still Alive?’
Lauran Hibberd – ‘How Am I Still Alive?’ feat. Lydia Night
Lauran Hibberd has teamed up with Lydia Night from The Regrettes for her latest single. ‘How Am I Still Alive?’ arrived this week and you can check it out here.
Deux Furieuses release special single ‘She’s Not Coming Home Tonight’
Deux Furieuses – ‘She’s Not Coming Home Tonight’
We finish this week with the important new single from Deux Furieuses. ‘She’s Not Coming Home Tonight’ is their response to the murder of Sarah Everard and is dedicated to all missing women and girls.
The single is in aid of #ReclaimTheseStreets and you can listen/download the track here.
We roundup the best music news from the past week!
Every week we roundup the best music news from the past week in our News Report. To stay up to date with the biggest news be sure to follow us on our social channels:
There isn’t long left to wait for the 10th album from Foo Fighters to arrive on 5th February. This week the legendary Dave Grohl celebrated his birthday in style by debuting the third track from ‘Medicine At Midnight’.
‘Waiting On A War’ follows the releases of ‘Shame Shame’ and ‘No Son Of Mine’ and gives a further glimpse of what fans can expect from the new album.
Fans wanting to pre-order the album can do so here.
It has been an eventful week for Holding Absence as they prepare to release their new album ‘The Greatest Mistake of My Life’ on 16th April. First the band unveiled their stunning new single ‘Afterlife’ before announcing the departure of bassist James Joseph.
We can’t wait for ‘The Hope List’, the new album from Lonely The Brave coming next week on 22nd January! To whet the appetite even further the band have unveiled a short look behind the scenes in a new video for ‘Keeper’.
Former Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls drummer Nigel Powell’s The Sad Song Co has release their new single ‘My Saccharine’. They will be releasing their album ‘Saudade’ next week on 22nd January.
Bearded Theory moves to September and announces Placebo!
Placebo to headline Bearded Theory
Bearded Theory festival have announced plans to move the festival to September in the hope that it will be safe to do so by then. Moving from May the event with now take place across 9, 10, 11 and 12 September.
The festival have also announced that Placebo will be joining the line-up, with full details to be revealed at a later date.
Five4Five Fest makes triumphant return to help #SaveOurVenues!
Back at the height of the initial national lockdown, a streamed festival entitled Five4Five Fest did two things. It provided much needed entertainment to struggling music fans and raised money for heroic NHS workers.
Now in Lockdown version 364 or something like that, the festival returns to once again provide an escape from the horrors of real life. This time the event is raising money for a cause close to home for music lovers, the Music Venue Trust and the Save Our Venues campaign. We recently wrote about the reasons why this support is desperately needed in our blog Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues.
As with the May event, Five4Five Fest takes place over a Friday and Saturday night with an array of musical talent performing from their homes/garages and this time even a school! The festivities are streamed across multiple channels and at present you can still catch up on demand on Youtube here.
There are probably fewer ‘household’ names on the line-up this time around, but there is no lack in talent. The Friday kicks off with a gentle performance from Paper Mill who include former Lower Than Atlantis guitarist Ben Sansom. There are more sombre moments to follow with both Holiday Oscar and Rob Lynch serenading us with emotionally charged songs including Lynch’s hauntingly festive school assembly set.
There is plenty of rocking to be done too however, with headliners Yonaka particularly bringing the party with the likes of ‘Rockstar’ and ‘F.W.T.B.’. Yonaka are stars and deservedly close the Friday night. To end night one, we are treated by the band to a festive outing of ‘Last Christmas’.
Both nights include afterparty DJ’s for those at home looking to continue the party. In true festival fashion there is also merch available at five4fivefest.com. There are also numerous raffle prizes all raising money for the Save Our Venues campaign.
Onto Saturday and the lineup for day two is certainly louder with the fantastic Haggard Cat blowing away any cobwebs. Nova Twins and Hacktivist both also deliver the goods before a slight change in pace with the brilliant Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
The event is closed out by two fine young bands Normandie and finally Holding Absence. Again both performances provide great entertainment for those watching from home and whet the appetite for the return of live music.
The sad reality is however that many of the venues that these bands will frequent may not be around when music can finally return. They haven’t been properly supported by the government and they desperately need support. The good news is that you can help, by donating to the #SaveOurVenues campaign.
Once again Five4Five Fest has been a massive success and over the two evenings has showcased some amazing young talent. With your support and with hopes of battling this virus raised by recent vaccine announcements, lets hope and pray that soon enough we are able to return to watching these bands in our favourite venues!
You can still watch Five4Five fest and until Monday 27th December 2020, you can still donate, buy merch and enter raffles at five4fivefest.com.
FIVE4FIVE Fest announces return with stunning lineup
Five4Five Fest Lineup announcement
Following a highly successful debut in May, the charity festival Five4Five Fest has announced its return. The May event saw the likes of Enter Shikari, Don Broco and Deaf Havana raising money for the NHS Charities Together.
Now, the two day event is set to return on 18th & 19th December. This time around the event will be raising money for the #SaveOurVenues campaign by the Music Venue Trust. To learn why the campaign is so important for the future of live music, you can read our recent blog Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues.
The lineup has been announced for the event and will see headline performances from Yonaka and Holding Absence plus the likes of Normandie, Nova Twins and Haggard Cat. More details on the event can be found at five4fivefest.com.
110 Above Festival Announce 2021 Lineup
110 Above Lineup Announcement
Another festival announcing their lineup this week is Leicestershire event 110 Above. Featuring headline performances from Sports Team, The Amazons and Sundara Karma, this promises to be a very special weekend.
Joining the lineup over 12-15th August 2021 are Yonaka, Vistas, The Snuts, Zuzu, Paris Youth Foundation, Lauran Hibberd and more. If you want to celebrate the return of live music with 110 Above, tickets are available here.
BST Hyde Park add Duran Duran
Duran Duran to headline BST Hyde Park
Our third and final festival lineup announcement this week comes from British Summer Time in Hyde Park. BST this week revealed that Duran Duran will headline Sunday 11th July 2021 with special guests Nile Rodgers & Chic plus Grace Jones. Tickets are available here.
Metallica unveil 2nd edition of Monopoly board game
Metallica Monopoly anyone?
If you are still looking for Christmas present ideas, look no further! Metallica have unveiled their 2nd edition of the board game Monopoly. Pick yours up here.
Greta Van Fleet announce new album and single
Greta Van Fleet – ‘Age of Machine’
Greta Van Fleet are back with their new single ‘Age of Machine’ ahead of the release of their newly announced album ‘The Battle at Garden’s Gate’ on 16th April 2021.
Independent Venue Week is back
Independent Venue Week returns in 2021
As we discuss in our blog Why We Need To #SaveOurVenues, our independent venues require our support. The always brilliant Independent Venue Week returns in 2021 from 25th – 31st January to help raise awareness. For more information visit independentvenueweek.com.
