The Greatest Mistake Of My Life
Label
Summary
Penance,’ I was instantly fascinated by
Holding Absence and their sound, which I personally found to be unique within the realms of current post-hardcore and alternative rock. The group’s self-titled debut album, which dropped back in early 2019, continued to showcase why the band stood out to me and many others in the first place. While I enjoyed said first full-length, I’m even more impressed by their newly released second LP, ‘
The Greatest Mistake Of My Life.’
It all starts with ‘
Awake,’ a beautiful instrumental introduction driven primarily by strings and pianos, which seamlessly transitions into the powerful ‘
This is utterly incredible.
Holding Absence released their brand new album The Greatest Mistake Of My Life this past Friday via SharpTone Records.
It is already on course to hit the Top 40 of the UK Albums Chart.
The album is currently at 39 in the Midweek Chart and would be the first time that the band have ever been that high.
They had this to say about the news: We won’t lie - we weren’t expecting this, but are pretty blown away to see it. If you haven’t picked up our record yet, please consider doing so at holdingabsence.com
Welsh rockers Holding Absence explore life, love and the responsibility of artists on superb second album.
Words: James Hickie
As we know, some bands buckle under the pressure posed by the second album. Is this where they’ll truly emerge? Will they build upon the foundations established by their debut, or tumble and fall under an expectation entirely of their own making? Holding Absence are not one of those bands, thankfully, with everything about The Greatest Mistake Of My Life screaming confidence, from its cinematic scope and aesthetic to its affirming tunes.
It’s also an illustration that while originality is important, it’s not the be all and end all. There’s nothing wrong with delivering something tried and tested if it’s done well, with the requisite affection for what’s come before and boatloads of your own passion. Given vocalist Lucas Woodland’s trumpeting of My Chemical Romance in his band’s March K! Cover Story, Holding Absence are more than aware th
Holding Absence: Mistakes, regrets, and the making of Britain’s next breakout band
The future of British rock hasn’t looked so bright in a long time – and it’s about to get a new leading light. On cinematic new album The Greatest Mistake Of My Life, Lucas Woodland and Holding Absence are laying everything on the line in a bid to capture and heal the hearts of rock’s new generation…
Words: Jake Richardson
Photos: Bethan Miller
“Holding Absence isn’t a sad band – that’s something I want to make clear from the outset.” Lucas Woodland is all too aware of the perceptions that form when your band is adorned with such labels as “emo newcomers” and “the next My Chemical Romance”. Those descriptions are no bad thing, of course, but when they’re combined with a debut album centred around the concepts of love and heartbreak, featuring songs with titles such as Your Love (Has Ruined My Life), it’s all too easy for the uninitiated to write you off as a
Holding Absence: “COVID underlines the fragility of everything”
Holding Absence frontman Lucas Woodland reflects on his personal trauma ahead of the band’s K! Pit stream.
Words: Phil Alexander
COVID has affected us all in different ways. In the case of Lucas Woodland, the singer with melodic Welsh post-hardcore crew Holding Absence, he has felt its impact on both a professional and on a deeply personal level.
“If I’m completely honest, the whole experience has been really bad,” he says candidly. “For me the fact that live music has stopped has been a really negative experience. Who I am day-to-day and who I am in Holding Absence are different people, or at least different sides of me, and having the Holding Absence side of me stripped away has felt weird and horrible. But you have to do what you have to do to get through this, and we have to wait for life to resume. At my age, that’s just hard to do because you want to be out there grabbing life.