Post-Hardcore For The Cyberpunk Generation: Holding Absence’s Modern Life Is Lonely
Words: Sam Drake
Have you ever wondered what post-hardcore would sound like for the cyberpunk generation? Or maybe you’ve been waiting on an album that marries the isolation of modern life with the beauty of a mountain skyline on a cool autumn evening? What if I were to tell you, dear reader, that Holding Absence has the answers you’ve been looking for in their fourth studio album, Modern Life Is Lonely!
I’ve been on a science-fiction kick lately - reading novella after novella about robots finding humanity in themselves, and exploring the streets of Cyberpunk 2077 - and I truly believe that Modern Life Is Lonely could find home on the latter’s soundtrack. With its obvious hyper-pop influences in the hyper-active moments, like in Lucid Love, and it’s lo-fi roots laced through tracks like Heaven and Take Me With You, this album is equal parts a love letter to the quiet beauty of life as it is a commentary on the disconnected state of current society.
Reanimate, the opener of this timely album, starts softly with the combination of birds chirping and calm electronic chimes - the birth of a new day and a new era for Holding Absence. I feel like this moment captures the concept of the album beautifully, as does the rest of the song, with the serenity of infinite possibilities but the looming presence of a subtle disconnect that technology has lulled us into. It’s personified through Y4-BBO, the robot and mascot that the band crafted to be the vessel for their lyrics. In Reanimate, Y4-BBO is waking up, rebooting, and seeing the nature that has reclaimed him in his death/rebirth. It’s a truly stunning track that talks about internal healing, through technological terms and floral imagery.
Their third track, and fourth single, Heaven, is one of my personal favourites. This is the closest to a classic Holding Absence song that you will find on the album, with an epic, catchy chorus that pulls on your soul, heavier guitars, and a classic Lucas Woodland (lyrics) scream that sounds cathartic for both the listener and Woodland himself. The verses are that of this album, though; light, electric, and peacefully haunting. Something about it is addicting, like an emotional release that comforts you on its way out. Maybe it’s the combination of the old and the new. Or maybe it’s the chorus that can find a new meaning on every listen. But it is truly a stand out track.
From the familiarity of Heaven’s sound, to the brand new; Woodland spoke to The Metal Roundup about the use of autotune in alternative music and how it’s rapidly becoming a new norm for the genre, despite how certain parts of the community condemn its usage. And whilst it becomes the new norm, it’s the creative uses of vocal distortion that make it a fresh and interesting addition to the scene - with bands like Sleep Token and Loathes being prime examples. And Holding Absence definitely succeeded in making interesting choices with their vocal production with this album.
Shells_like_us.int and lullaby.int were both recorded in a higher key and BPM, then slowed down and reverbed, creating these small, mellow moments on the album that feel like looking out of a high-rise window, across a neon city skyline, on a rainy day. They aren’t songs that you would typically find on a post-hardcore album, with the vocal production being incredibly futuristic and unusual in this space, but they are placed so naturally in this album that it would feel incomplete without them.
And I’d be amiss if I didn’t speak on Kyoto Snow, the final track of this eleven song adventure. This five-minute epic is a gorgeous conclusion to Modern Life Is Lonely, neatly wrapping up its themes with an emotional gut-punch, delivered with a tragic goodbye kiss.
“But if the universe where I'm revived / Is cold without you by my side / And our stars don’t cross tonight / I’ll keep on dying, just to find you”
Everyone has that one thing, or one person, that pushes them to fight through all life throws at them. A passion that makes life worth living. And that’s what Kyoto Snow lays bare, with Woodland’s incredible vocals reaching out to your own heart to find what makes your own life worth all the effort to fight against the loneliness of the expansive universe. Incredibly rich with Scott Carey’s guitars and underlined by Benjamin Elliott’s bass, the final track is a tear-jerker that refuses to hold back.
Mixed with the gentle hum behind the verses, the disconnected electric sounds between them has Kyoto Snow echo how MLIL started with Reanimate. And as it fades out with the sounds of birds chirping, it creates a cycle that the album, and Y4-BBO, lives in; the endless cycle of a lonely but hopeful life in an inspiring yet isolating world.
Optimistic and realistic, with a clear intention and a fresh sound for the scene; Modern Life Is Lonely is one of the top alternative releases of this year, without a doubt.
