Holy Esque - At Hopes Ravine (2016)

At Hope's Ravine is the debut album by Holy Esque. It is a primal, muscular, and utterly elemental work - a true epic in an era when such an epithet is overused. Here, bold is beautiful and the Glasgow quartet's messages of hope and grief, escape and yearning are writ large across sonic skies. This is epic 21st century music occasionally reminiscent of Boy-era U2, early Simple Minds and Echo & The Bunnymen or perhaps more contemporary bands such The National, The Walkmen, Interpol and Titus Andronicus. Released on Holy Esque's own label Beyond The Frequency, it's a debut collection that transcends genre categorisation and language boundaries. This is universal music. People music. Songs for the head and the heart. It reaches out. It grabs you. Go with it.