I think we need to focus our attention on this British indie rock duo on this one. Not because of anything, their talent in producing a loud album needs to be appreciated. The band started its journey since 2013 and has previously released three EPs, all of which can be downloaded for free through their Bandcamp page.
Holy Pinto consists of two talented musicians, Aymen Saleh (vocals, guitar) and Ryan Hurley (drums). Often compared to The Front Bottoms, Holy Pinto brings a fusion of punk, indie, and emo music. The tremendous of them is this duo knows the potential of each personnel and their collaboration is very promising. If we say in boxing, Aymen Saleh and Ryan Hurley is like a one-two punch, very effective.
Their debut album was released by Soft Speak Records on April 8, 2016 ago, long enough indeed, but it still remains interesting to discuss their music. What's interesting about Holy Pinto is Aymen Saleh's vocal voice that sounds very clean since the first song was played. With a guitar that has a tone clean, we like to easily guess that they will play a music that is calm throughout the album. In fact not so, though alone, they are very confident by taking a loud attitude in channeling their energy.
Comparisons with The Front Bottoms they previously received also sounded more noticeable on this album. Ryan Hurley's drum game, measurable and powerful, gives life to this album. We will often hear Ryan Hurley move from one fill-in to another, as in the song "Elliot" for example. Ryan's game is very groovy here, although it must be acknowledged in some parts as it sounds a bit shaky.
The focus of this album is based on Aymen Saleh's vocal tone. Aymen's clear and very clean voice makes some ordinary vocal tones ordinary to sound more comfortable. However, it can be argued that Aymen Saleh's voice is less emotionally impressed. But I think it is not too obvious as the impact is because it can be said Aymen voice still has its own appeal although less emotion. Aymen Saleh in addition to singing also played guitar in this album Congratulations. The guitar Aymen Saleh played has a tone clean and is sometimes played in disarray.
Aymen took the approach to filling the guitar on this album as naturally as possible, so it was immediately imaginable that it would be like this part of Guitar owned by Holy Pinto when played live. Some of the guitar stuffing itself also deserves attention, where Aymen does not feel awkward to include some palm mute techniques and smart licks.
Most of the lyrics they wrote were pretty dark and centered on a self-cleaning theme. As in the song "Fairylights" which has a vibe of Weezer, there is a lyric that has a purpose to provide relief for themselves. This song also shows that we need certainty even though the certainty is less wearing, "Give me courage, I'll reward you / we never caught that yellow moon" nor in the song "Graduation" which has a cathartic message, especially in the "I'm glad it's all over now ". Uniquely, the sequence of their album titles is like whispering a particular message, especially on the last 3 tracks, "Graduation", "Congratulations", and "Flowers". As if the three tracks depict the events, from graduation, congratulations, and the giving of flowers that are usually also interpreted as gifts.
Since the first track has been played, Holy Pinto is about to build something in Congratulations. The flows they wake up are smooth, from the opening that seems like a welcome greeting and then covered with a massive cover. So when we penetrate it deeply, it feels very sweet and satisfying. The strongest song on the album is arguably the song "Tooth". The song opens with a catchy riff with a touch of mathematics.
The song is built to achieve climax in the chorus, which has a catchy melody covered with pop-style guitar shuffle. Other songs "Graduation" also should not be silenced, this song is a very chill song and become the right soundtrack when we need a calm atmosphere. The melody in this song is easy to follow, coupled with Aymen's voice that does make this song sound 2x more catchy and also Rian Hurley's drum stuffing that although sounds faint in the background just feels very meaningful.
This album provides a fun experience when you listen. However, when we get to the end of the album, we will realize that this album is not an album that will always be the first choice when we want to listen to music at random. Some songs are quite stand out, but not a few that only serves as a filler without giving any impression to us.
Congratulations is a solid debut of Holy Pinto. DInamika Aymen and Ryan obviously will be more developed in the future, but from this album alone we can capture the extraordinary potential when they both bersanding and playing music simultaneously. Congratulations are not just a celebration for Holy Pinto but also indicate that a bigger thing will come to them someday.