The instrumental album is a rare breed within the pop and rock community. This is not the case within other genres. Classical music thrives on lyric-less music. Concertos and symphanies rarely have voices gracing their scores and this is approached without question.

More often than not, the instrumental album ends up in the hands of pop’s experimentalists. When one considers the questionable quality of some band’s lyrics, it seems a pity more acts don’t follow suit. Sadly, it may be a case of the vocalist’s inflated ego (along with the overwhelming tradition of pop music requiring a lyric) dictating the status quo.

Fortunately help is at hand thanks to Canadian electro pioneers Holy Fuck. Their new album, Latin, is a masterpiece of atmospheric instrumentalism from the quietude of the minimalist “1MD” through to the get-down-and-boogie funk of “Red Lights”.

Latin is a very visual album, conjuring up all kinds of images. The busyness of “Silva & Grimes” recalls a high speed train journey while “Stay Lit” could soundtrack a dark night of the soul on the wrong side of town.Towards the end tracks like “Stilettos”, “Lucky” and “P.I.G.S” are pure techno dirt; a gritty, earthy sound of rusty texture with distorted, squelching synths. Anyone who like Battles or has heard (and enjoyed) the London based Datapuddle is going to love this.

Latin is fundamentally an intense experience. You can almost hear the minds of the four band members working overtime as they concentrate on the intricate work of creating each track. Watching clips of the band perform their music on You Tube is like watching a scientist being charged with disarming a nuclear bomb. Everything has to be done with expert precision, but the result is incredibly satisfying. Ultimately, Latin is the sound of four people enjoying themselves. Sure, it’s a very measured form of enjoyment - the kind felt by grand masters of chess or geeks solving a difficult maths problem.

But then again, geeks are in at the moment. And so, I hear, are Holy Fuck.

9/10

Release date: 10 May 2010

Label: Young Turks / XL Recordings

www.holyfuckmusic.com

www.myspace.com/holyfuck

09/06/10 - First published on www.noizemakesenemies.co.uk on this link