photo: Phil Sharp
English musician Jonathan Stolber goes in at the deep end on An Unshakable Demon, the new EP by his project The Holy Road. With his mental health as the main theme he serves up a full course meal, with art-rock, neo-classical and industrial playing catch. On the lead single Coming Up For Air harsh industrial electronics collide with his vocals - think Nine Inch Nails having a party with Radiohead, but he doesn't even need words to make a point with the instrumental Against / Social / Media, the strings driven closing track that doubles as a way to try to get some kind of closure and a mission statement to cope with the voices inside his head.
An Unshakable Demon is a journey into darkness. Stolber is a brave and damaged man, using his music to get away from it all. It is not for the squeamish. His knack for coming up with beautiful melodies to counteract the stern rhythms is spot-on. It is a therapeutic exercise without a Hollywood ending.
The Holy Road:
Jonathan Stolber: Voice, Therevox, Soma Lyra-8, Roland 808, Programming & Sequencing, Roland Juno 106, Kawai upright piano,
Omnichord, Oberheim Matrix 1000, Moog Minitaur, Music Box, Marxophone, Martin Dreadnought acoustic guitar,
Kaoss Pad, Harmonium, Glockenspiel, Fender Telecaster Deluxe guitar, Fender Precision Bass, Fender Rhodes '73,
Dulcimer, Drums, Deepmind 12, Elektron Analog Rytm, Bass Station II, Alesis SR-16
Chris Duffin: saxophone, flutes
James Saddington: Fender Telecaster guitar
Ben Weedon: violins, viola
An Unshakable Demon is a self-released EP. Buy it from his website.
Tracks:- Title Sequence (Fade In)
- Coming Up For Air
- The Chauffeur
- A Quiet Dedication
- Slow This Down (Epilogue)
- Against / Social / Media
