by Nathan Springer (@drownloading)
Chicago solo-project turned four-piece Pool Holograph have put out a slew of releases on Bandcamp since 2009, including three full-length releases (one as a full band) and a couple of EPs in between. Their upcoming full-length, Transparent World, is set to be released on cassette through Cleveland/Houston imprint Jurassic Pop, and, if the first couple of singles are a good barometer of the album, it is going to be a mesmerizing listen from start to finish. The lead single "Heat Map," a semi-anthemic mid-tempo number that alternates between quiet and bombast, is followed by second single "Visitation," which dials the tempo back further. The skeleton of the song, some simply strummed guitar chords, is backed by subtle percussive touches and hints of ambience. Eventually the song crescendos into a gorgeous chorus, something that Pool Holograph have perfected by this point in the band’s lifetime. The result has hints of Microcastle-era Deerhunter strewn about, filtered through Pool Holograph’s unique lens.
Lyrically the song centers around a conversation between a person and their inner monologue. Pool Holograph guitarist/vocalist Wyatt Grant elaborates: "'Visitation' illustrates a conversation between a person and their conscience (guardian angel, other half, etc.). The exchange is at first about the human's troubled state, in which the angel offers their guidance. Upon seeing the "stairs" the angel descends, they console the angel, realizing that without their human counterpart, they have no "shadow". The idea of this scene came from the exhausted images of angels I'd see in church growing up, and beginning to see them as their own imperfect characters through being so humanized. It plays on the notion that everything is unstable and incomplete in a way, but by the same virtue, everything has a sort of spiritual potential."
Transparent World will be released on October 13th as a limited edition (50) cassette. Pool Holograph embarks on a tour next month; dates are listed below.
09/07: Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
10/06: Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha
10/07: Montreal, QC @ Psychic City
10/11: New York, NY @ The Gateway
10/12: Flemington, NJ @ Flemington DIY
10/13: Washington D.C. @ Hole in the Sky
10/14: Oxford, OH @ Blue Rose