Holding Pattern - Small m Manifesto
(Matlock)
Holding Pattern's debut album, Small m Manifesto, opens with a bang.. and a woosh. Droning guitar tones wash over the listener as spritely rock drums explode into the mix. While ambience and rock and roll are usually hard to mix, Holding Pattern does it quite successfully in the album's leadoff and most original track "1914."
The guitarists are not exactly adverse to the hot rock though, as most of the rest of the album finds the band busily rocking out. "Ryerson" is the album's standout track. Here, the rhythm section is just as forceful, but the guitar tones are more distinct and crystalline. At the build towards the end of the song, you feel like maybe this is what June of 44 would have sounded like if they covered a Mogwai song. "Asparagus" has a similar sound and is also quite good, as contrasting guitar parts mesh into sweeping gestures.
The band also makes it clear they are not solely interested in rock and roll. "AB" has a sound that has as much in common with early 70s fusion as it does with early 90s rock. The rhythm section plays a steady beat off which the guitar and a guest saxophonist take tangents... jazz-influenced but entirely composed rock music.
Small m Manifesto contains some excellent musicianship. However, the album is relatively succinct—while this means that every minute of the album rocks out, it causes the identity of the band to be lost. They play well, and they rock well, but there is nothing in the album other than playing and rocking. This problem is not helped by the fact that the recording is somewhat flat. Pretty much each minute of the album, all the instruments are playing at exactly the same volume. There is little contrast, and the "good parts" don't stand out as well as they could. The band plays good music; however, more could be done to make it sound better.
More than five years in the making, Holding Pattern's debut album fits right in with bands like Do Make Say Think, Dianogah, and Olo. While the album comes five years into the band's existence, perhaps what is most remarkable is that the members still are in their early twenties. While the band's sound lacks a certain amount of newness and the recording is lackluster, Small m Manifesto is still quite enjoyable, and the band's deft playing ability leaves much hope for the future.
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