Hi Pal,
Since the inception of this newsletter, I have been actively hunting for certain genres of music within the Christian scene. One of such genre brackets is post-punk and/or post-punk revival, and though I have listened to some bands/artists with this style of music performed in small-medium doses (e.g. Gable Price & Friends, Former Ruins), I still craved more.
There’s something quite satisfying about good post-punk especially when it is fused with noise rock or elements of new wave. Hallowed is the first project I have found that has given me a taste of this.
Hallowed is a post-punk project based in New York that I ran into this year on Instagram. They dropped an album in 2022 called Dolorosa and while I was still sinking my teeth into it, their new album, Rad Trad, got released. When compared with each other, Dolorosa is a shorter and more cohesive post-punk record while Rad Trad is more experimental with mixed elements of noise rock, new wave, and synth-wave.
GO TO CHURCH
is far from being the best song on the album if you’re being critical but it certainly is the most enjoyable in my opinion. One of the best things about post-punk is how its lyrics and vocal approach can feel lackadaisical and whimsical. Even when dealing with heavy or serious topics, the best post-punk bands are those who tend not to take themselves too seriously, and possess a sarcastic or ironic sense of humour. This song captures that feeling.
Lyrically, there’s nothing to highlight. It’s basically the vocalist singing “Go to church” on repeat — with slight alterations and ad-libs — for about one minute, forty-five seconds. Yet, somehow, it just works! Instrumentally, it’s simple and straightforward and fans of this genre may describe their approach as post-punk 101. That’s the beauty of the track though.
Everything just flows well, and I have had it on repeat for days.
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I have not reviewed this album yet. But I have other reviews that you can check out here.
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