EP Review: Held – Held

Held – Held
March 21st, 2023
Alternative Rock / Shoegaze
Independently Released
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Before I start this I want to mention that I personally know three of the guys in this band: David Mitchell, Tyler Addey-Jibb, and Timothy Aaron Bryan. I don’t want that to ever colour my perception of the music itself, and I always try to be impartial and unbiased when it comes to discussing the music made by my friends in an official capacity. That said, even though I don’t typically listen to this style of music, the debut EP from Montreal’s Held really truly surprised me by its quality.

Sounding like something wailing straight out of the 90’s, this EP features four tracks of hard-hitting and crunchy yet emotive and sensitive rock music that sounds like it could’ve easily come out of the shoegaze and noise rock world of alternative music alongside bands like Deftones or Sonic Youth. There are definitely elements of both sides of that spectrum present on this EP, and thus it should be of no surprise that there’s a decent amount of variety present across these four tracks.

“Thrown Against a Wall” is by far the heaviest and punchiest song on this EP, featuring a harsh and intense vocal performance from Mitchell, heavy and thick guitars and bass, and drums that feel inspired by the kind of beatdown hardcore that’s super popular these days (especially near the end with that beat on the bell of the ride cymbal). “Transaction” is decidedly softer, sounding like one of the more atmospheric cuts from any of the Georgian sludge bands, though specifically there’s a lot of resemblance to Kylesa and Baroness (perhaps even Torche). “Regression” has an absurdly catchy chorus where Mitchell shouts “I hate too much” over and over again, though I’ve jokingly said to friends that it sounds like he’s saying “I ate too much”. The verses surrounding the chorus have a somewhat ‘melty’ feeling to them, with the guitars sounding like they’re being melted by acid before the big, bombastic chorus solidifies everything again. “Petty Soil” has a grungy vibe to it, perhaps more so than the others, with some Nirvana-esque melodies in the vocals during the chorus, contrasted by more punk-like yelling in the verses. The guitars and drums are lively and upbeat while remaining heavily atmospheric and emotive. It’s a great way to end the EP.

While I normally wouldn’t expect myself to love this kind of music I have to say I’ve really fallen in love with this EP the more I’ve listened to it. It’s an approach to this kind of heavy, downer rock that I can get behind, with memorable vocal melodies, catchy guitars, punchy drums, and all of it is held together by bass that is loud and in your face and drives the rest of the instruments along. This is a fantastic debut from Held and I can’t wait to see what they put out next.

Final Verdict: 4/5
Awesome

Favourite Tracks:
“Thrown Against a Wall”
“Regression”

~ Akhenaten