Hopscotch: Holograms at Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh

It didn't take long for the mosh pit to break out in front of Holograms during their set at Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh last Thursday. It happened organically, as a good mosh pit does, when something inside the music urges an audience to throw themselves around in union with other bodies doing the same. It was like old times! There was much flailing about. Men stood next to women to make sure they didn't get too knocked around. Strangers fell down and were selflessly given a hand up. We were all in the music together. I danced until my shoes broke apart.

I turned to someone halfway through Holograms' set, sweaty and panting, and I shouted at him, "What is this? What is this music?"

It's simple, it's Joy Division. It's post-punk. Hardcore. It's new post-punk. It's modern.

Holograms make angular, youthful music, steady and driving. It is music that compels your heart to beat faster. Holograms are not just copy artists, though they drink from the same well as their post-punk forebears, with tight guitar-and-drum rants cleverly augmented by heavy synthesizers. They transmit their music in a live setting with energy, giving the audience a reason to jump around aggressively. I like my music sweet sometimes, and I like it twee too, but every so often I need a catharsis, and at their Hopscotch appearance Holograms provided just what I needed.

The Swedish band continues their tour with dates in North America and the United Kingdom (see tour dates on the right-column).

Their debut LP was released in July 2012 on shoegaze-revivalist label Captured Tracks.