Jump to content

At Hope's Ravine

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At Hope's Ravine
Studio album by
Holy Esque
Released26 February 2016 (2016-02-26)
Genre
Length45:22
LabelBeyond The Frequency
Holy Esque chronology
Submission
(2015) 		At Hope's Ravine
(2016) 		Television / Sweet
(2018)
Singles from At Hope's Ravine
  1. "Hexx"
    Released: 21 October 2015[1]
  2. "Silences"
    Released: 3 November 2015[2]
  3. "Tear"
    Released: 12 January 2016[3]

At Hope's Ravine is the debut album by the Scottish rock band Holy Esque. Released on 26 February 2016 through the label Beyond The Frequency, the album was received positively by critics, although some reviews were more mixed. It was preceded by the singles "Hexx", "Silences", and "Tear".

Background and release

[edit]

Holy Esque began in 2011, after vocalist Pat Hynes met Keir Reid in East Kilbride the previous year.[4] After releasing "Tear" - a track that would later be a single for At Hope's Ravine[5][3] - in 2012,[6] they released their debut self-titled EP in 2013,[7] and the EP "Submission" in 2015.[8][2]

At Hope's Ravine was released on 26 February 2016,[9] and was preceded by the singles "Hexx",[1][10] "Silences",[2] and "Tear".[3] It was released on the record label Beyond The Frequency, which Holy Esque created.[1]

Musical style

[edit]

At Hope's Ravine is an indie rock album,[11] with influences from goth rock,[7] stadium rock, and post-punk.[12] Its musical style reflects the brutalist architecture of Lanarkshire and Glasgow.[13][14] The album's overall sound has been compared to JJ72,[12] The Jesus and Mary Chain,[15][7] Nirvana's "Come As You Are",[15] and U2's work from the early 1980s.[11]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash8/10[5]
God Is In The TV8/10[16][14]
PopMatters6/10[7]
Q[11]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[9]
The Skinny[12]
Uncut7/10[15]

At Hope's Ravine was generally received positively by critics. In his review for The Line of Best Fit, Ian Paterson described the track "Tear" as "the kind of shout-a-long moment groups of horrifically drunk friends share sentimentally at the end of a great night out", and concluded that "the heavens are the limit" for the band.[9] Writing for Clash, Dave Beech described At Hope's Ravine as a "staggering, cathartic album";[5] in his review for DIY, he praised its juxtaposition of light and darkness and its "blistering intensity".[13] Duncan Harman of The Skinny also praised the differences between light and dark aspects of the album, and compared Holy Esque to The Twilight Sad, Echo & the Bunnymen, and Simple Minds.[12] Both Harman and Phil Mongredien of Q described the album as "muscular",[12][11] although Mongredien was more critical; he stated that the first five tracks opened the album "in spectacular fashion", but that as a full album it was flawed and inconsistent.[11] Evan Sawdey of PopMatters praised tracks such as "Rose" and "Hexx" for their merging of dark subject matter and catchy hooks, but criticised tracks like "Tear" and "My Wilderness" for being unimaginative and "like something Robert Smith scrawled on a napkin before throwing it away".[7] Jason Anderson, writing for Uncut, also criticised some songs for being "too close to conventional power-balladry or Joy Division karaoke", but was happy that the band followed the adage of "go big or go home".[15]

Many critics praised the vocals on At Hope's Ravine. Dean Mason of God Is In The TV described them as "trembling [and] caterwauling", writing that "vocalist Pat Hynes has a unique style which makes him sound like he's being unbearably tortured whilst holding a pneumatic drill"; he concluded that the overall effect was "beautifully unsettling".[14] Writing for PopMatters, Evan Sawdey recognised that Hynes' vocals could repel possible fans, but praised the distinctiveness the vocals gave At Hope's Ravine.[7] Phil Mongredien of Q praised Hynes' "despairing roar" in the first five tracks, but believed that the vocals became more one-dimensional and overwrought towards the end of the album.[11]

Track listing

[edit]
At Hope's Ravine track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Prism"3:09
2."Rose"4:27
3."Hexx"3:54
4."Covenant - (Ill)"4:37
5."Silences"3:42
6."Strange"3:01
7."Doll House"5:33
8."Tear"3:16
9."My Wilderness"4:47
10."St."3:35
11."At Hope's Ravine"5:21
Total length:45:22

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Day, Laurence (21 October 2015). "Holy Esque detail new LP At Hope's Ravine, reveal blistering new single "Hexx"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Blair, Robert (3 November 2015). "Holy Esque 'Silences'". Tenement TV. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Day, Laurence (12 January 2016). "Holy Esque's new offering "Tear" is a perfect storm of pain and beauty". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  4. ^ Hynes, Pat (2 March 2016). "Holy Esque: Why We Create". Clash. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Beech, Dave (29 February 2016). "Holy Esque - At Hope's Ravine". Clash. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  6. ^ Paterson, Ian (15 November 2012). "Neu: Holy Esque". DIY. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Sawdey, Evan (7 March 2016). "Holy Esque: At Hope's Ravine". PopMatters. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  8. ^ Moore, Mark (6 October 2015). "Holy Esque - Submission EP Review". contactmusic.com. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Paterson, Ian (26 February 2016). "Welcome to the concrete jungle of Holy Esque". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  10. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (3 December 2015). "New music to listen to this week: Holy Esque". The Independent.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Mongredien, Phil (April 2016). "Holy Esque - At Hope's Ravine". Q. p. 107.
  12. ^ a b c d e Harman, Duncan (3 February 2016). "Holy Esque: At Hope's Ravine - Album review". The Skinny. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  13. ^ a b Beech, Dave (26 February 2016). "Holy Esque – At Hope's Ravine". DIY. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  14. ^ a b c Mason, Dean (23 February 2016). "Holy Esque - At Hope's Ravine (Beyond The Frequency)". God Is In The TV. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d Anderson, Jason (April 2016). "Holy Esque - At Hope's Ravine". Uncut. p. 74. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  16. ^ a b "At Hope's Ravine by Holy Esque reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=At_Hope%27s_Ravine&oldid=1285445434"