Even in the thickest darkness, when the world feels a maze of loss and longing, light threads its way through the black. It might glimmer like a whispered promise or linger like a distant, fragile star, but it’s there—stubborn and strong. Uncertainty carries its own peculiar grace; it breathes life into the stillness, reminding us that change and hope are bound together. In the heart of bleakness, even sorrow paints its own poetry. The unknown isn’t only emptiness; it’s a canvas for every dream yet to be realized, a wild expanse where wonder waits, unbroken, for those willing to look.
Those Holy, an electronic duo born in 2024, stirs up cold Celtic currents, layering their sound with a mix of industrial intensity and gothic allure. Chrissy Connor, an Irish producer known for FEND and LONESAW, joins forces with Welsh singer and producer Lucy Grey of Majia and Dubs Club fame. Rooted in Liverpool but reaching back to their Celtic origins, the two channel dimly lit stages and ancient echoes into music that’s both raw and refined. Their sound summons the intensity of Nine Inch Nails, PJ Harvey, and Massive Attack; with the depth of TR/ST, and the dark pulse of Selofan.
Their track In Shadows reveals a melodic core beneath their usual harsh edges. Beginning with a spoken Welsh rite, it plunges into a pagan richness that speaks to their Celtic heritage. The duo tempers the industrial abrasion of their live performances here, allowing a polished, atmospheric quality to take hold—a piece that whispers ancient rites while resonating with modern, moody rhythms.
In Shadows delves deep into the raw ache of blame and the relentless sting of pain, threading through the human desire for transformation. It paints a portrait of a soul tangled in turmoil, wrestling with the grip of hopelessness and the cold grip of fear, yearning desperately for freedom from the binds of deceit and suffering. Voices muffled, forms shifting, the song conjures an image of entrapment—a spirit grappling to shatter the cyclical chains that confine it. Each line drips with the longing to pierce through the fog, to find a glimmer of clarity in a world that looms heavy and opaque. It’s a vivid, unflinching reflection of the struggle to lift oneself from the depths, reaching, clawing for a moment of unburdened light.
On the track, Connor shares: “It’s the closest thing we’ve written to a pop song, or our version of a pop song anyway. It’s different from some of our heavier material, but it felt like the most appropriate track to serve as an introduction. It was the first track we finished as a duo.”
Grey adds: “This track allowed us to merge elements of our heritage into our sound in a way that feels authentic. It’s dark, but there’s beauty in the shadows.”
The video, directed by Emily Lomas, unfurls as a stark black-and-white reverie, blending the strange with the natural. Snippets of writhing worms, earthy ground, insects scuttling, graffitied walls, burning incense, and stoic statues flicker across the screen. It feels like a montage pulled from a restless dream, brimming with vivid peculiarity. German expressionist influences creep in, with arresting close-ups of Connor’s lips and eyes, their intensity pulling viewers into a world both intimate and surreal. The visuals dance between starkness and subtlety, casting familiar elements in an unfamiliar light. The film captures a rhythm of dissonance and allure, drawing us into its curious embrace.
Watch the video for “In Shadows” below:
Those Holy have opened for Liturgy, Autumns, Tolouse Low Trax, and Topographies.
Listen to the song at the link below, and order here.
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