Holding.Sky

From the Throne to the Lions is the newest release from the Canadian band Holding Sky. This is the third release for the band and it can best be described as hard rock meets post-punk with a healthy dose of melodic rock thrown in for good measure.

Musically the band is very tight and the playing is very good, but the thing that stood out the most to me is the incredible passion and emotion that is evident in Tim Laidman’s vocals. Laidman wears his heart on his sleeve, conveying his words in such a strong way that they are almost palpable. I was drawn in to the songs and lyrics without even realizing it. Each tune is a mini-narrative of sorts covering a wide range of tragic events such as the death of a friend, an automobile crash and the effects of drug abuse on society.

While From the Throne to the Lions is a solid foundation of songs that are full of energy and dripping with emotion, the two tracks that stood out the most to me were “This Is Derailment” and “Don’t Forget To Remember Me”; both of which have a harder, edgier feel to them and have withstood repeated listening in my CD player.

On the down side, I know this is only an EP, but with only 24 minutes worth of music it left me wishing for more... hopefully there will be a longer release sometime in the near future.

I find it odd that Holding Sky has not been noticed on a grander scale because honestly, this is a good record from a band that has a passion for what they do (and they do it very well). Check these guys out, you will dig them. [ END ]

Track Listing:

01. Broken Bones and Flawed Features
02. Are You Not Entertained
03. If This Is Poison Then I’m Going Down
04. On Tidal Waves
05. This Is A Derailment
06. Don’t Forget To Remember Me
07. For The Sake Of Sound

Run Time: 24:18

-Bruce Moore - PureGrainAudio.com

Back in the days of my youth, I prided myself as being a person who appreciated up and coming musical artists, lending my support by attending many Battle of the Bands events and cheering on my favourites; this, of course, is code for the fact that I was quite infatuated with the “skate-boarder” teen boy, and as such, my friends and I enthusiastically attended events where we could discover, and thus swoon for, said boys. However, the experiences were not totally devoid of any genuine musical interest – I have always been a fan of rock and alternative music, and it was great to see my peers partake in such an activity.

On February 19th, 2008, in a little place called the Tap House in London, ON, I was whisked away down Memory Lane and therefore able to re-live such distant memories, and all because of a band called Holding Sky. With 2010’s very own Bourke Tillmann on drums, Holding Sky allowed me to revel in past teenage adventures, but with two very important exceptions: I’m a little bit more mature, and therefore only moderately infatuated with boys who can make music, and more importantly, the music was way better.

Holding Sky formed in December 2004, and the current line-up, as of August 2007, consists of Tim Laidman on vocals, Kohji Nagata on guitar and back-up vocals, Michael James Hill on guitar and back-up vocals, Ben Tillmann on bass and Bourke Tillmann on drums. The band has released 2 EP’s to date, and are hard at work recording their third with Dan Achen of Catherine North Studios (the studio of choice for popular Canadian artist City & Colour).

Although the band members are all either working or currently in school (2 med students, no less!), they somehow find the time to keep up with their day-to-day business while continuing to pursue their music. The ability to time-manage in order to go to class/work and make it out to shows is impressive, but as if that weren’t enough, Holding Sky writes all their own music, and unlike many young bands trying to make it big in the world of alternative/emo/let’s-just-copy-alexisonfire-and-hope-no-one-notices, they’re actually good. The music was interesting and engaging, and Laidman especially defied my expectations by giving an energetic live performance, as my past experience has indicated that the vocalists are generally the weak link in such novice bands.

Holding Sky’s performance this February was my first, but I was quickly convinced of their talents and am now the proud owner of both of their albums: Love versus Logic, released December 2005, and Love is Dead: The Birth of Promiscuity, released May 2007. The audience seemed to enjoy the show, but was unable to sing along because many seemed to be watching the band for the first time as well, including many 2010 classmates. The exception, however, was the always entertaining Chris Kong, who enthusiastically sang along with gusto, and thus provided the comedic relief element of the show.

February 19th may have marked my first exposure to Holding Sky, but I hope it will not be my last. For those of you who were there, I’m sure you would agree that this is an incredible accomplishment, and a band to look out for; for those of you who were not there, with any luck Holding Sky will be back in London again, and you’ll have the chance to find out what you missed.

And I’m guessing that next time Chris won’t be the only one to sing along.
If you want to find out more, you can check out the following links:
www.myspace.com/holdingsky (music and up-to-date show listing)
www.holdingsky.com (music and merchandise)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/HOLDINGSKY/9229840924

By Avital Harel - from OffCall, Schulich’s Premiere News Source, London ON, Mar. 2008

I was handed Love.Versus.Logic, Holding Sky's debut EP, at a show at Hughson Street Baptist, and expected something like the acoustic set I had just seen by HS singer Tim Laidman. I was gloriously misinformed.

Self-produced and recorded between October and November 2005 at Mastermind Studios, Logic is an intriguing debut; how does it hold the sky higher than most?

Their songs are structurally diverse, reminding me of Alexisonfire. “Shirts. Versus. Blouses," the closer, is a twenty-minute excursus into frenetic solos, guttural screams, and mellifluous singing.Lyrics being more important to me than music, I found theirs intriguing. I was surprised by the thoughtfulness of their messages. Pressure from society and tension in personal relationships colour the songs.

The elements setting Logic apart also corral it: though Holding Sky possesses musical possibility, the band needs some technical finessing. Both Khoji Nagata’s rhythm guitar and, in some places, Laidman’s vocals could be better tuned. Despite that caveat, however, Love.Versus.Logic sets a high benchmark.

by Joshua Weresch - Steel City Music