Goth Fight Cage
Irish Lo-Fi Indie Rock — Release Debut Single ‘Optimism’
Goth Fight Cage is not the latest money spinner spewed forth from UFC head honcho Dana White. Rather, Goth Fight Cage is the new solo project from Mark Holloway which despite the playful monicker is a project that acts as cathartic vehicle and outlet for Marks creative impulses. New single ‘Optimism’ is a wry slice of indie rock that cries the question ‘where is all my optimism’?
With Mark as the sole member right at the core of Goth Fight Cage is a strong DIY ethic. Writing, recording, producing and engineering each track while simultaneously being the creative force behind videos, photos and artwork all comes from Mark. This makes Goth Fight Cage an intensely personal project. Recorded in practice rooms abusing long suffering amps, whispering vocal ideas in bedrooms at 5am, hiding from the imminent sunlight and using whatever mic he could lay his hands on all while trying not to wake the neighbours.
Spending most of his time in fuzzy drum and bass duo Fagash McCann, Goth Fight Cage gives Mark the opportunity to explore new sonic territories. With years worth of demos and ideas filling the vault it’s finally time to prise open the door and let us in, ‘Optimism’ is the first track to be released. A sharp indie rock track that owes as much to The Kinks as it does to The Strokes, pop hooks rub up against garage rock guitars and pounding drums. I’m sure there are many a NYC band paid small fortunes for production to sound this effortless and authentic. ‘Optimism’ was one of those songs forged in between the small hours of the morning and the breaking light.
Taking inspiration from a friend dubbing Mark as ‘happy-go-lucky’, a worm that dug itself into Marks psyche that occasionally reappears causing existential dread and throwing up the question in Marks own words ‘what the hell happened?!’ Lyrically the song touches on times when Mark was profoundly confronted by the question. Rather than wallowing in whatever dire situation has presented itself the vocals are sang with an acerbic attitude, dripping in apathy and all delivered through a worm that will bury itself in your psyche.
The video for the track, shot by Con Coulter, is the perfect companion piece for the track. Featuring Mark in his natural tea drinking habitat, with a viewpoint of his kitchen window watching a yellow suited version of himself seemingly invade his back garden and wrestle his way through the question ‘what the hell happened?’. Like looking at yourself in the mirror and having your reflection speak back to you, you might not like the answer.
The drive to create runs deep across the project with every element feeling personal. It almost feels like you were sitting in the same room as Mark during all those late nights that gave way to early mornings, crafting sounds, whispering into microphones, scribbling ideas and lyrics onto whatever was at hand. Or waking up after many drinks with the vague recollection of a YouTube rabbit hole that lead you to watch a festival crowd be so bored by a band they ripped the mesh security fences off, forming a cage, while various goth and emo members of the crowd fought inside.
‘Optimism’ releases July 21st with a B-side cover of ‘Freaks’ by Surf Curse
