Love. It’s an emotion that rules our lives whether we like it or not. Love is everything in this life and there’s nothing we can do about it. Holding Absence understands, appreciates and adores this sentiment and delves into the murky depths of it on this, their self-titled debut full length. A record ultimately 2 years in the making, it is a body of work that pulls on the heartstrings from all directions with total ease and one that saw vocalist Lucas Woodland pushed to the absolute limit of his emotional capabilities. From the looking back on a love that has diminished due to the effects of mental health (‘Perish’) to the struggles of asking your partner to help you through your darkest of days (‘To Fall Asleep’) all the way through to watching a love you once had burning to a crisp before your very eyes yet still feeling grateful that it even happened (‘Wilt’), ‘This Is Holding Absence’ leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the ebb and flow that is so prominent within the concept of love while maintaining a beautifully desolating atmosphere throughout.

Following on from a series of critically celebrated singles that saw them develop a passionate, rampant and devoted fan base in the blink of an eye, the band started work on their debut full length back in February of 2018. Returning to the studio with George Lever who was at the helm of ‘This Is As One’, the band’s split EP with Liverpool’s Loathe, it wouldn’t be completed until August. Off the back of a sudden member change, it was a case of realising that the most beautiful things come from just letting things happen naturally.

Though with the uncertainty behind them and once again a full line up, completed by now permanent guitarists Scott Carey and Chris Smitheram, bassist James Joseph and drummer Ashley Green, the band are ready to take the scene by the scruff and make everyone feel just as strongly as they feel. Because after all, that’s what this is all about.

To feel is to be human and to be human is the most pure thing we have in this life. By breaking down the barriers of what we feel everyday, Holding Absence are diving into the deepest corners of our psyche and pulling out feelings that we didn’t even know we had the capacity to conjure. In many ways, this band is merely a catalyst for something much bigger than just guitars and bass and drums and words, and that’s something that Lucas has realised more and more as time has gone on.“Someone once came up to me and said that Holding Absence is the sound of every big emotion I have ever felt, all of the happiness and all of the sadness. It made me think that there is so much more to this than just making music.”

With this mantra in place, 2019 is set to be absolutely huge for the band. This is Holding Absence and you better be ready.