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Quirkily Charming And Fantastically Intriguing

Just when you think you've heard every music genre going, along with some that should never have made it out of the recording studio, along trots another cocktail of sub genres to kick you up the butt and restore your faith in music once more. Seattle based Holy Ghost Revival are such a band, brewing a concoction that on paper sounds ludicrous but bizarrely has an increasing appeal that draws you further and further into their world. And what a world. Starting off with a Glam rock campness that would have made Marc Bolan proud mixed with the theatrics of The Rocky Horror Show, Holy Ghost Revival then decide to stir things up with punk inklings and an underlying Goth darkness as their over the top dramatics masks a degree of vulnerability before they radiate a catchiness that would make a pop song green with envy. Completely bemusing, undoubtedly amusing and highly compelling, Holy Ghost Revival certainly have a little of something for everyone.

Deceivingly opening proceedings with a graceful musical interlude, Holy Ghost Revival at first sound akin to the run of the mill indie band, desperately trying to sound different and failing miserably. Its all sweetness and light as acoustic guitars dance around a piano accompaniment, foolishly making you believe that Bleeding Light will offer nothing new and exciting. Oh how wrong our ears can be. Sure, 'Autumn's Children' may have made a fool of you with its basic start but that all changes as soon as Conor St. Kiley's vocals make their grand entrance. Part David Bowie, part Kate Bush with an dash of Marc Bolan, St.Kiley's voice coils its way through each track, offering operatic roars with glam rock playfulness, backed ingeniously by the band's bombastic theatrical playing. Strange and unusual, Holy Ghost Revival suddenly becomes an intriguing listen that puts the fun back in music whilst delivering a compelling album of addictive tracks that demands your listening attention.

With song titles such as 'Ignight, Ignight, Goodnight' and 'Dance Of The Caterpillar', it is obvious that Bleeding Light is not your average album. 'Mr Fox (A Gnostic Hymn)' holds a strange fascination before you even listen, an element it doesn't lose as the track kicks in with full vaudeville theatrics that are simply screaming out for audience participation before climaxing in a mass of clashing cymbals and Bolan-esque vocals that fade dramatically into a deluge of "ah ah ahhs". And herein lies the charm of Holy Ghost Revival; nothing is straightforward and nothing conforms to a rule book ('Play Money' goes as far as brandishing a marching drum), and whilst some may initially be flummoxed by the Seattle band's vast mix of styles, even the cynics will be smiling by the end of Bleeding Light.

Quirkily charming and fantastically intriguing, Bleeding Light is like a Pandora's Box that reveals something new with every listen as Holy Ghost Revival bizarre concoction of styles invigorates and uplifts throughout each track. Brilliantly captivating and wonderfully weird, this is a band to revive your faith in music.