Holy Holy - Paint (2017)

Despite their name, Australian rock band Holy Holy hold no affiliation to any organization, but they can carry a song into the heavens. Formed by Brisbane vocalist Timothy Carroll and Melbourne guitarist Oscar Dawson, the band came into being over years and continents. The guys first met in Southeast Asia during volunteer teaching travels, and then reconnected in 2011 in Europe, where Carroll was gigging as a singer/songwriter in Stockholm and Dawson was in Berlin with his then-band, Dukes of Windsor. Upon their separate returns to Australia, they decided to make it official. Ryan Strathie joined on drums, Graham Ritchie on bass, and producer Matt Redlich provided synth support. Holy Holy released their first single, "Impossible Like You," in early 2014 and their four-song debut EP, The Pacific, soon followed. A year later they released their debut album, When the Storms Would Come, a ten-song collection of expansive, guitar-based soundscapes in the vein of Mark Knopfler or CSNY. Riding on the radio success of their massive single "You Cannot Call for Love Like a Dog," they sold out shows and toured Australia and Europe. In 2016, the band returned with "Darwinism," which was included on their sophomore effort. ~ Neil Z. Yeung.