HOLY COVES – Welsh Indie Rockers Have Their Milestone Album ‘HIRAETH’ Out
14 Augustus 2026
Band: HOLY COVES
Who: Ardent Welsh indie outfit, fronted
by singer-songwriter Scott Marsden.
Album: HIRAETH
Welsh for ‘longing‘.
Their 4th.
Press info: ‘Hiraeth‘ is a brave offering, orchestrated by a band with a clear vision,
free from genre confines, pushing it to new levels. Scott Marsden’s songwriting is more personal than ever, delving into difficult topics of childhood trauma, addiction, recovery, love, loss, tragedy and death, which cuts deeper than ever before.”
Marsden: “We tried our best to lock ourselves away from the outside world. At times that felt impossible when life was living harder than it ever has before. I used writing as a way to process everything that was happening around me. The real world crept into the band room and into the songs we were writing together.
It was one of the hardest moments of my life, but at the same time it was very therapeutic.
The band showed up for me when I needed them the most. I can’t think of any better therapy
to losing your Mum than writing and recording a record. It gave the record so much more meaning, we put everything into this album, it was beautiful.
“This record means everything to me, Hiraeth is something I’ve been feeling for years as
an adult but didn’t really understand fully when I was younger, it’s hard to put into words exactly what it means, it’s more of a feeling. For me it’s in the mountains, the forests, the trees, the meadows, the rivers, the beaches and the sea. It’s in everything I see that’s beautiful, the echoes of what was once there before me, my ancestors, I feel it deeply.”
TUTV: Hireath is a genuinely soul-stirring and brutally honest record.
Singer-songwriter/guitarist Scott Marsden recalls his past demons and finds comfort
in the beauty of his beloved Wales, its compelling history and the making of this new formidable album. He’s an emotive storyteller, blessed with a heartwarming voice that
fits his self-exploratory quest in every respect, spiritually and musically.
The songs are embedded in sonic captivatingness and sepia-colored melancholia. At its core, you get impassioned by the tracks’ rich and arresting melodies. Arousing guitar play makes its impressive mark all around without being dominant or getting in the way of the full euphonious picture. Holy Coves are a tremendously close-knit trio of emotionally engaged musicians.
The 8-and-a-half-minute bittersweet symphony Wich Way The Weather is the epic centrepiece of the LP where the band peaks with gripping intensity and orchestral
voltage, turning this staggering roller coaster jam into a truly stupendous opus. It’s surrounded organically by the 3 top-drawer singles (hear them below) and 5 equally powerful and spellbinding pieces.
This is unquestionably the band’s most coherent, engrossing, and complete work,
excelling on every level and showing the cathartic power of music, once again. Mind
you, their previous work is more than noteworthy, but Hiraeth‘s full-blown execution makes it a grand achievement to cherish for a long time.
Along with the new album by The Strokes and the new Tricky one
I played Hiraeth every single day (even more than once) for the
past 2 weeks. And many spins will follow.
One of the best indie guitar rock-pop albums of the
year. A milestone for the Welshmen. Hands down.
The 3 singles.
– FALLING DOWN –
– TRAVELLING –
– HOLE –
STREAM/BUY ALBUM
