HOL!DAY - Delusions of Grandeur

HOL!DAY is a new emerging musical indie/alt/rock art project recorded, mixed and produced by Eric Palmquist (Thrice, Bad Suns, Half Alive) at Palmquist Studios in Los Angeles. Released December 13th 2024, “Delusions of Grandeur” is a cohesive journey surrounding ten songs packaged & presented the way albums used to be in the 70’s when it was almost ritualistic to lay back, drop the needle and go for the ride. HOL!DAY’s sound fuses raw visceral energy with profound emotional depth. As it merges together alternative, indie, grunge, and classic rock, it also delivers introspective lyricism wrapped in anthemic soundscapes. A subtle nod to The Beatles emerges in its timeless melodies and layered harmonies, while its dark, reflective lyrics evoke a universal poignancy, enriched by dynamic instrumentation and intricate arrangements.

While the first two teaser songs released entitled “Spellbound” and “Self Destruct” had sonic leanings towards The Beatles, Elliott Smith and Djo. “Call On My Brothers” was the first single from the album and grinds its teeth sharply into what mainstream alternative has always bled for with such raw emotion and power behind, Audioslave, Manchester Orchestra and Smashing Pumpkins who have come before. The track’s driving ferocious rock force continuously slams behind a seamlessly woven narrative thread around the abrupt realization of romantic betrayal. Deeply rooted within Geek Tragedy, the inner twist of the emotional blade is enough to send the listener into the makings of a Trojan War. The follow up single “Stepping Stone” is a blend between Arctic Monkeys, Coconut Records and Hozier with a 4/4 stompable clap track as in Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and Arctic Monkeys “Do I Wanna Know.” Lyrically the song ruminates over one’s personal delusional merits of success by chasing an ever fading finishing line. “There Does Not Exist”is a sonic soundscape with lyrical overtones relevant to Tame Impala’s disparaging feelings of human interrelations. Metaphor and wandering spurs the imagination but ultimately leads the heroine only to acquiesce with lonerism. Symbolic poetry is mellifluously laid over rain droning percussion very much akin to Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” song, Reckoner. Lastly, “The Wild Ones” is a Chris Cornell’esque lyrical collage of the entangled entrapment that gradually takes hold over the slow possessory of love. Primal and carnal in nature, the zoomorphism leanings and chorus lead to breaking free as in the howling cries of man or beast.