Record Review: Holy Hum "Appendix A + B"

[$8 CAD // Edition of 300 // https://holyhum.bandcamp.com/album/appendix-a-b]

Whenever I get new music to listen to by the same artist but on multiple platforms I tend to listen to the cassette first.     Somehow, Holy Hum has managed to send me a cassette, CD and record and so since I do listen to cassettes first I then had to decide what to do next: the record or the CD.   However, this record is called "Appendix A + B" and the CD is actually called "Appendix C" so I did what I felt was right in regards to the alphabet and all and I decided to listen to this record first since I feel like these two pieces should come before the CD.

Each of these two songs by Holy Hum are about four minutes in length.   On "Appendix A" there are actually vocals and the way that the song is being sung is quite interesting.   I can't put my finger on what exactly it sounds like because there is still this drone hum behind it.    The closest things I can find- which are perhaps universally known as well- are the Bush song from the (I believe) second Crow soundtrack where he sings "I want you here with me now" and then of course the one song by Stabbing Westward everyone knows: "What Do I Have To Do?", though it just feels like that one in the quieter moments and not the louder ones as that chorus kicks in pretty heavily.

The ambient sound of "Appendix B" is vibrant and light.   It feels like it is lifting me up as perhaps the sound you would hear when an angel is ascending into Heaven in a movie.   I felt the first time listening through this that perhaps "A" and "B" were mirrors of each other and the vocals were simply removed from "B" but if that is the case (And I do not believe it is now) I can hear far too many slight differences in "Appendix B" for that to be true.    The more you listen to these songs the more you will begin to take those little facets out of them and realize the full weight of what is going on.

Whether or not you are into music that can be described as "ambient" and "drone", you should listen to this Holy Hum record because it sounds amazing on vinyl and there is just so much going on within it that you might not hear on the surface right away.    I am in no way implying that you won't like this one on the first listen because I certainly did but the more that you listen to it the more that you are going to grow to appreciate it.