Though they’ve only been a band since early 2019, Atlanta’s Holy Beach aren’t wasting anytime making a big impression with this debut album. On this disc, three guitars are in attendance as the six-piece band unleashes a visceral and meticulous display of post-rock and experimental ideas.
“Ships Off The Coast” gets the album off to a chunky, turbulent delivery of post-hardcore and metallic sounds, where clean singing helps illuminate the rugged melody. “Fade Aways” follows with a pro rock type of ambience that stays mysterious and spacey for the entire vocal-less two minutes.
Further along, “It’s The Fear” rumbles with a post-punk type of buzzing, where darker textures are met with tuneful reverb that’s, dare I say, almost dance friendly-ish coming from the rhythm section. Meanwhile, “Confident Prick” dives head first into sludgy, hard rock sounds that are ominous and hypnotic in all the best ways.
The second half of the record is gold, too, with the thick, haunting “Incest In The Herd” and the restrained yet abrasive “The New Colossus.” At the end, “International Graves” presents an interesting dynamic with a doom and gloom quality amid a hazy display of almost shoegaze, and “Skull Faced Horse” ends the listen with a blast of rhythmic and bristling post-punk that reminds us of Dischord Records on steroids.
This is a monster of a listen that’s full of thundering, swirling, and gigantic sounds; it’s no surprise that frontman John Lally has a full time gig spearheading the shoegaze outfit Sleep Therapy. I suspect that the rest of the band have strong backgrounds as well, considering the skilled musicianship present and strong songwriting prowess.
Whether you’re a fan of punk, grunge, alt-rock, metal, or even goth rock, All That Matters Is This Matter deserves a spot in your collection, and expect to revisit it frequently.
