Words Emma Smith

Images Michelle Grace Hunder & Marcus Coblyn

Indie rock band Holy Holy have been dominating the Australian music scene since 2011. Formed by Timothy Carroll (songwriter, vocals, guitar) and Oscar Dawson (songwriter, guitar) the band has earned themselves a reputation as one of Australia’s best live acts. They’ve released four top 20 albums, been nominated for two ARIA awards, and are best known for their smash hit single ‘True Lovers’. Holy Holy are kicking off their national tour in Wollongong this Friday April 14, to celebrate their latest single ‘Messed Up.’ We caught up with Timothy ahead of their upcoming gig at UOW UniBar.

Holy Holy almost never released their latest indie dance hit “Messed Up.” It was a contender for their last album but the boys felt something wasn’t quite right and they abandoned it. However, Timothy says months later they both couldn't get it out of their heads.

“I said to Oscar one day, I’ve been thinking about the song Messed Up a lot and he said, funny you say that, I’ve just been tinkering around with it,” said Timothy.

The band was working with Australian rapper Kwame on a different song, when they sent him a few demos of Messed Up. The next day, Kwame told the boys he loved the track, and recorded a verse and chorus idea.

“Although the concept of the song was in the works for a while, it came together in this iteration really quickly. We booked a recording session and spent half a day in the studio with Kwame, but we didn’t even record his vocals because the recording he had done at home just had spook. In the biz, when a song just has something, we call it spook. If it sounds and feels good, there is no point trying to mess with it.”

Timothy says the key to collaborating with other artists is to choose wisely.

“We reach out to people who we really admire, trust and love. You have to let them bring in a bit of their own creative spark or voice to the project you’re working on.”

The boys first played at UniBar as a brand new band, opening for Ball Park Music and Timothy says he has a bit of a soft spot for the Gong now.

“It was one of the first times we’d ever been on tour, so it’s always fun to be back in Wollongong. The venue reminds me of that tour…I get a bit nostalgic.”

The Wollongong crowd will be the first to hear brand new unreleased music from Holy Holy’s fifth album, which is a work in progress, as well as favourites from their growing catalogue of hits.

“We’ll be playing an unreleased song which we don’t often do. We’re also going to play two songs from our last album that we’ve never played live, ‘Stand Where I’m Standing’ and ‘St Petersburg.’”

The tour will also feature fellow Indie rock band Clews. The band consists of sisters Lily and Grace Richardson. Clews were put on Holy Holy’s radar when Timothy was working at the Big Sound Music Conference in Brisbane, where emerging bands perform in front of agents and festival bookers.

“Clews were one of the bands who applied, and I immediately thought they were one of the best bands that came through. Shortly after that, we got them to come and support us on a tour,” said Timothy.

They’ve since created a ‘Like A Version’ cover of Green Light by Lorde together and collaborated on a song ‘The After Gone.’”

“It’s going to be a really great night of music. You’re going to have Clews performing these beautiful, acoustic ballads, Kwame showcasing highly produced and modern International hip hop music, and Holy Holy singing songs across our (soon to be) five records. People are going to experience three really high quality, different musical genres.”

Holy Holy’s fifth album is on track to be released this year. Timothy says it’s a diverse record, with one song that almost sounds like a Beatles tune, some electronic dance tracks as well as some heartfelt classic songs.

“With this album I’ve been trying to let go of caring about what people think, or making sure all the songs on the album are coherent. I’m trying to be free with the creative process and allow the songs to be. I really admire King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in that sense… the way they approach music with this real freedom and explore new things is incredible.”

Timothy says he’s looking forward to meeting the fans after the gig.

“Often after our shows, Oscar and I will go to the merch desk to meet people and hear about the ways that our music exists in people’s lives.”