Hologram

Reviews

Fashion Change / Hologram Live in DC split cassette

Two different solo studio bands from two different coasts of the United States (HOLOGRAM and FASHION CHANGE) came together to tour that country in May of 2022. This particular performance was recorded at Slash Run in Washington DC, current hometown of HOLOGRAM (or at least mainman Brendan Reichardt). The audio fidelity of the performances is very lo-fi, but this does not take away from the listening experience—of course, if anything, it only adds to it. HOLOGRAM, whose No Longer Human LP was my favourite release of 2021, plays several choice cuts from that slab along with tracks from their previous releases Build Yourself Up So Many Times Only to Be Brought Down Again and Again and Illusion of Control, along with, quite fascinatingly, a short cover of the intro to “Horizontal Hold” by THIS HEAT. On the flipside, FASHION CHANGE rages through numbers off of their Coward cassette and Devil’s Laugh 7″, with a couple of new songs thrown in the mix. This cassette tape comes highly recommended to anyone who is already acquainted with these two bands’ previous respective discographies—if you are not yet, make sure to remedy that! Two thumbs up for two of my favourite currently active bands.

Hologram No Longer Human LP

This is good. Like, really good. Ferocious, high-speed hardcore with cryptic, reverb-shrouded vocals over hammering drums. The guitars frequently go atonal like on “Humiliation Drills” and “Bite the Smoke,” adding an uneasy tension to the battering-ram punk. “Untitled” provides a brief interlude of bubbling synths wafting from melted VHS tapes before the frenzy starts again. Final track “I See a Pale Light” gives SWANS vibes with a dread-inducing, extended guitar/drum build-up and feedbacked hate vocals. Even more amazing is that this all comes from one person. I like the mystery—I don’t want to know anything else about who it is or how they made this. I just want more.