Holy Holy Announce New Album 'Cellophane' & Stacked List Of Collaborators

Holy Holy are only getting more ambitious, playful and generous as their career goes on.

On their fifth album, Cellophane, announced today and to be released on Friday, 22 September, the songwriting, producing and multi-instrumental duo of vocalist Tim Carroll and Oscar Dawson have welcomed more collaborators than ever before.

We’ve already heard one song from Cellophane – Messed Up, featuring rapper and producer Kwame. Messed Up is unlike any other songs Holy Holy have released since their inception in 2011, treading the lines of autotune-filled dance and indie-rock music.

Holy Holy teased further collaborations would be coming soon upon releasing Messed Up in March, and they’ve delivered. On Cellophane, Carroll and Dawson have teamed up with Gumbaynggirr MC Tasman Keith, who shows off his falsetto on This Time, according to a press release.

The duo have also recruited Ethiopian-Australian neo-soul artist Medhanit, welcomed Bag Raiders for some production flourishes on the dance-infused Pretend To Be, Perth’s Darcie Heaven features on Heroes, UK rapper Tia Carys stars on Two Minds, Two Days, Two Mornings, while Sweden’s Many Voices Speak provide lines in Swedish on the title track.

There’s also the 80s-inspired Ready, featuring Tasmanian electronic act Sumner. Out today, you can check out that music video below.

Cellophane is available to pre-order now via Sony Music Australia – merchandise bundles and vinyl options, including amber, royal blue, emerald green and ruby red coloured records, are available here.

“We formulated this idea of Holy Holy as this kind of songwriting factory,” Carroll explained about the numerous collaborations on the group’s new album in a press release.

Carroll and Dawson asked themselves, “What would happen if we got a day or two with all of these really talented and really interested people, wrap around them and create something cool together?

“We really enjoyed the process, and we loved getting to know all these different artists. It became like a family, and it creates a tapestry that's so rich and so exciting to us.”

Dawson admitted that they wouldn’t have been able to make this album earlier in their career. “We've made a lot of progress, especially as songwriters – we've been really able to narrow in on a musical idea and get a real feel for a song,” Dawson added.

“After making most of [Holy Holy’s previous album] Hello My Beautiful World on our own because of COVID, it was so nice to be able to get together with people in a room and make music together again.”

Carroll concluded, “In the past, this band has had a really considered approach. This time, I feel like Oscar and I have made an album where each song is really allowed to be exactly what it wants to be.

“We didn't force anything. I was really excited about the idea of letting go of being concerned of what other people would think, and really just trusting ourselves.”