Description:

The second album by underground rock-and-beyond shapeshifters The Holy Family comes complete with a heavy concept for the psychedelically inclined, and pairs this with music which does this justice and then some. Go Zero follows up the British groups widely praised self-titled debut from 2021 and says foundational member David Jason Smith is based on a hypothetical theory that there is no such thing as the future. We are continually moving forward into our past until we arrive at our birth creation the Tree Of Knowledge or Going Zero, as Ive termed it. It figures, then, that over some 40 minutes the five musicians conjure a sound that exhibits an affinity with great experimental totems down the ages, in a manner thats avowedly forward-facing and stamped with their own identity. All involved boast a pre-Holy Family CV to turn clued-in heads: Kavus Torabi (guitars), Sam Warren (bass) and Emmett Elvin (piano and Rhodes), along with Smith himself, were all members of the mighty Guapo. Finnish studio wizard Antti Uusimaki (Circle/Pharaoh Overlord etc), who co-sculpted the eight tracks on Go Zero into their final form. Drummer Joe Lazarus is new to the band taking over that role from Smith, who largely concentrates on vocals and synths here and his versatility is never in doubt, as his rhythms pull in myriad directions, blurring the lines between jazz, prog and psych rock. If you dig anything from Can to Boredoms to Oneida, then step this way. Though The Holy Familys musical inspirations are multitudinous, and rarely if ever obvious, the lyrics nod to a distinct literary source namely Vorrh, the trilogy of fantasy novels by cult British author Brian Catling, who died in 2022 while Go Zero was being assembled. In these books, the Vorrh is an impenetrable sentient forest, older than mankind, believed to house all knowledge and in the same way that the name The Holy Family references an Angela Carter work, Smith explains, the track titles Chalkys Eyes (had been eaten by flies) and The Watcher are direct references to characters in the book. With Go Zero, The Holy Family have returned with an album that unfurls elegantly, even while big time discombobulation is occurring.

Tracklisting:
1. Crawling Out
2. Bad Travelling
3. Chalkys Eyes
4. The Watcher
5. Hell Born Babel
6. Go Zero Suite: Pt. I
7. Go Zero Suite: Pt. II
8. Go Zero Suite: Pt. III