EP REVIEW: Cult Classic – Holy Wars
Described as genre-blurring provocateurs, Los Angeles duo HOLY WARS release their first EP since signing to Pale Chord via BMG, titled Cult Classic. Vocalist Kat Leon and guitarist Nick Perez (who also takes the lead on production) are a dynamic duo who claim to be ushering in a new era of ambitious music with their “unique, evolving and infectious medley of genres” and whilst yes, their EP is a complex amalgamation of genre-bending stylings, none of them are particularly unique or new. A lot of artists have grown more ambitious in the past few years, so if they’re going to be claiming to ‘usher it in’, they need to back it up with something stronger than this EP.
That being said, there is nothing inherently wrong with Cult Classic; it’s a strong early release and does have some catchy elements, it’s just not memorable. It would sound great in a playlist, but wouldn’t be easily identifiable once on shuffle. Coming in at just over 15 minutes with six tracks, Cult Classics is easily digestible, with short tracks allowing Perez to experiment with different production styles in quick succession.
<//> opens the EP with audio of an old tape film projector rolling, with the movie sounding upbeat and tranquil before a woman’s screams start to get louder and louder before the abrupt sound of the projector breaking ends the track. Only 22 seconds long, it is a prelude to the EP and is certainly an interesting start to a set of songs, readying the listener to perhaps go on a journey like you would in a movie, but it doesn’t actually lead into the first song on the EP at all, which is odd and essentially makes this prelude redundant – it adds nothing.
The title track opens with a strong quick-paced beat – heavily reminiscent of Firestarter by THE PRODIGY – before launching into a catchy rhythm and smooth, easy-listen vocals. In this track, HOLY WARS live up to their reputation of genre-blurring as Leon displays a plethora of vocal styles in one track, from smooth and slick to spoken word, whispered vocals and even shouting at points – not quite rough vocals, but definitely toeing the line and showing versatility. The track also features the element of a tannoy/walkie-talkie style section used to signify an upcoming breakdown that has grown in popularity significantly over the past few years and is always a fun way of distorting vocals. This track has all of the ingredients of a fun and catchy track, but none of the elements are inherently unique.
Singles Body//Temple and Deus Ex Machina continue this genre-exploring expedition, including either the addition of Perez‘s lower vocals, or Leon‘s vocals pitched down (it’s unclear which) in the former and siren-like effects in the latter. Body//Temple immediately starts stronger and heavier with crunchy chords and vox coming from the soul, but it should be called “warning” with how much that word is incessantly repeated throughout the track, though the bridge where “body, my temple” is chanted is definitely the highlight – so it is understandable to an extent. Deus Ex Machina brings in a new layer with the addition of Leon‘s angsty rap-vocals with an almost drum ‘n’ bass styling underlying it all from Perez – the track is very much something you could expect to hear in a DJ set at a festival.
VenoM and Tension//Release have the right balance of repetitiveness where it becomes more catchy than annoying, which is hard to do so props to Perez on creating that. VenoM features the ever-classic formula of whispering a lyric before the breakdown and to be honest that’s one trope that can never be over-used – don’t fix what isn’t broken. But even then, using such a classic element means that they could have afforded to go stronger and weirder either on this track or on others throughout the EP.
Overall Cult Classic is a decent release for a new band and over time it will be interesting to see HOLY WARS grow and hopefully develop their own unique sound. There are experimental features in this EP, but to stand out in an extremely saturated scene they need to go all out – which we have no doubt that they can.
Rating: 5/10
Cult Classic is out now via Pale Chord.
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