Holidays

Ce week end c’est le week end HOLIDAYS. Ces quatres Italiens, complètement délurés aux influences surf-pop pourraient être la bande son idéale pour l’été. Hier, on était présents à leur showcase à La Fabrique Balade sonore et c’était top top top !

Quatre charmeurs italiens, chantant de la pop anglaise, grattant la guitare du feu de dieux et faisant applaudir tout le public présent dans la petite boutique de la Balade Sonore annonce un succès assuré.

Ils présentent leur album Young Love en se produisant ce soir à l’Espace B et samedi à l’International alors on se bouge pour les voir parce que lundi ils retournent à Rome. - Konbini

I romani Holidays sono in attività dal 2009 e il loro primo LP, Young Love, uscirà a maggio per Keep It Yours. Il videoclip di "Lazy Diamonds", regia di Enrico Boccioletti (aka Death In Plains), uscirà il 20 di marzo. - Vice Italy

The cult DIY Roman Keep It Yours announces its latest release by The Holidays, their "Young Love" record available now (digitally) and on limited edition vinyl on May 5. It's the first full length album from The Holidays, whose music has taken a turn towards a more dream pop style, as heard on the first single "Only In Dreams" that is available as a free download now. Watch out for the upcoming video directed by Enrico Boccioletti from Death in Plains for their next single "Lazy Diamonds", out on March 20.

Keep It Yours? continue their winning streak by creating an awesome artistic and creatively free platform for the city's up-and-coming bands. It's a very personal do-it-yourself initiative? and something to be supported. - Dazed Digital

It would be a mistake to label Rome-based outfit Holidays’ debut LP Young Love just another dream pop album with breezy guitar melodies and reverb-happy vocals. The album as a whole is not outstanding only because it is characteristic of such elements but it is the outfit’s unparalleled songwriting and assertive hand at honing their sound rather distinctly that makes the album genuinely original and overall brilliant. - Hearing Gold

Holidays, it's a dream energic pop. And we love. After the realease of its first album "Young Love", we can dance thanks to them, at the moment of their french tour. We're waiting their coming impatiently! ....
- Wad Magazine

Some believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. An artist who replicates the sound of another, while still actualizing themselves in their music, could be described as acknowledging their place in the world of music. Consequently, they eliminate the idea that they are attempting to be “pure” musicians – thereby also eliminating the idea that they are derivative, since by being honest about their derivativeness they also are in and of themselves creating an original persona.

Holidays has constructed a perfect amalgamation of chillwave, '90s alt-pop, and mainstream indie pop (i.e. Beach House) with their full-length debut from KIY Records Young Love. Although it presents nothing truly groundbreaking – with the potential exception of the Teen Daze remix of “Sands of Galaxies” - it is a terrific record which undoubtedly will receive a good amount of play in the summer months.

There is a nostalgic glow running throughout the entirety of the album. However, unlike many of its potential chillwave siblings (ie: such performers as Toro y Moi and Washed Out), which mainly reference '80s goth rock and video game music, Young Love brings to mind '90s alt-pop for the most part, occassionally alluding to such disparate points as Madchester, as on “Damn News.” Whirling synth lines, dynamic guitar parts, and dreamy vocals all combine on opener “Midnight” to create a joyful full-band effort.

Some of the songs seem gauzy to the point of being unfocused, but this only makes them enjoyable filler rather than actual bad songs. If the occasional lack of a memorable hook frustrates, the beautiful aesthetics of the album as a containing unit will allow the listener to overlook that aspect. The fact is that Young Love is a record that is pretty much on the level of being undeniably likeable. While some may want to claim it be derivative, it is truly hard to overlook the blatant joy in creation that runs through the work, to the extent that the derivative criticism doesn't really hold much water in the context of actually listening to the album.

Meanwhile, listeners will be surprised to find that the pleasant filler that mid-album song “Sands of Galaxies” is in its original form is expanded on and improved in the Teen Daze remix that is included as bonus on the album. Heart-warming synth tones elevate what is an otherwise somewhat unremarkable song in its album version.

The disparate influences on this work may have the rather suprising effect of making Young Love a breakout hit of some sort, along the lines of Beach House's shockingly successful Teen Dream a couple years ago. The scenario is similar, in a sense. The full, dreamy sound this album goes for is offset by the sheer energy there is behind every song. Consequently, at no moment do the aesthetics overwhelm the songwriting and execution. It succeeds marvelously as a dream pop record, in that it perfectly epitomizes both aspects of its containing genre. The “dream,” and the “pop.” - In Your Speakers

A sunny bucolic daydream, drenched in reverb and lovelorn lyrics. HOLiDAYS are a dreampop quartet from Rome with songs and DIY-visuals inspired by their European travels, Roman summers, and youthful nostalgia. Though they are not even close to completing their second LP, the leaks so far sound incredible and very different from ‘Young Love’ – with more fuzz and dreamier soundscapes. If you like Wild Nothing, Real Estate, Blueboy, and Mood Rings, listen to HOLiDAYS’ debut, ‘Young Love’ - Sounds Better With Reverb

TOP 10 DISQUES 2012 - NOVORAMA

Mais que diable se passe-t-il en Italie ? Depuis quelques temps, un vent nouveau empreint d’esprit d’indépendance souffle sur la botte et multiplie les nouveaux Eros bien plus fréquentables que leurs aînés. Le label romain Mannequin multiplie les productions de qualité, surfant sur la vague, qu’elle soit cold, no ou dark, alors que des aventures collectives ou individuelles représentant cette révolution musicale en marche comme celle des pesaresi de Be Forest avec leur pop sombre et habitée ou encore de Mauro Remiddi (aka Porcelain Raft), auteur d’un des plus remarquables albums de ce début d’année, mettent à bas nos idées reçues et nous prouvent qu’il y a heureusement bien une vie après Zucchero. - HARTZINE

Holidays. E pensi vacanze, estate. Guardi la copertina, l'immagine di un giardino con le palme dai contorni definiti e l'interno vintage scolorito. E pensi ancora vacanze, estate, ricordi sbiaditi. Come gli anni '80 che riesumano nostalgici, nelle sonorità dream pop tendenti al glo- fi o chill wave, a seconda di come la si vuole etichettare.

Gli Holidays sono leggeri, freschi, sognanti. Voce rarefatta ed eterea, suoni ovattati, effetti e synth minimali, un'aura sensuale, atmosfere beachy e beat dance. Come bolle di sapone fluorescenti, come gli amori dei teenagers che intrecciano appassionatamente le loro lingue, come rotolarsi in campagne al primo raggio di sole. Il tutto catturato da scatti bucolici di polaroid.

"Young Love" è un debut album che sicuramente non deluderà la frangia più hipster di Pitchfork, gli amanti di Real Estate, The Drums, Twin Shadow, Washed Out, Small Black, Teen Daze (qui nel remix di “Sands of galaxies”), Wild Nothing. Tanto di queste band si troverà negli Holidays, un gruppo italiano, per la precisione romano, che probabilmente avrà più possibilità di avere visibilità al di fuori dello stivale. Magari con il singolo "Only in dreams", che possiede mordente e appeal giusti.

Sarà pure, secondo alcuni, un fenomeno passeggero, di moda, ma ha stile e sul momento lascia una scia di sapori, odori, umori che inebriano, come l'arrivo dell’estate. - ROCKIT, SOLO MUSICA ITALIANA

"In fin dei conti non speriamo di piacere a tutti. Lo abbiamo tacitamente stabilito il giorno in cui abbiamo intrapreso questa strada, preferendo ascoltare e produrre alcune cose piuttosto che altre" - ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE ITALIA