Throughout life’s never-ending storms there is usually a person in our close orbit who acts as the calm and stabilizing figure we need to endure and survive. And when they pass on, we often utilize their lessons and wisdom as a compass to power forward. That core of comfort is at the heart of Cloned Apparition’s razorsharp new single “Holly Green,” named for someone especially close to the Montreal alt-rock band’s vocalist Alice Hirsch.
The propulsive and gliding track, which concocts a torrent of sound swirling through lanes of shoegaze, grunge, and hardcore for a confronting type of catharsis, arrives with news of Cloned Apparition’s signing to Static Era Records. The label will unveil in January a new vinyl release titled Spring Powered, a compilation of the band’s past discography.
“’Holly Green’ is a song about my late stepmother, named Holly, who passed away in 2018 from cancer,” reveals Hirsch. “It’s a song about how grieving never heals, it simply hurts less and how things on a personal and global outlook seemed to have gotten worse since her passing; hence lines like ‘the grass is greener on the other side’ and ‘heaven’s only a mile away.”
Hirsch adds: “‘Holly Green’ is a shade of green that is pretty similar to that of grass or overall greenery. It’s a calming shade of green, not too loud and not too drab. My stepmother was really the source of calm in my life during tumultuous times, and help me through a lot so the connection was made there and that’s why I chose that title.”
Fire it up below, and get lost in the blissfully dense sound of Alec Turcot’s remarkable guitarwork.