Holding Absence share Lucid Love as Modern Life Is Lonely moves into focus
Holding Absence have released their new single Lucid Love, the latest track to be taken from the band’s forthcoming fourth album Modern Life Is Lonely.
The album is set for release on 28 August via Sumerian Records, marking the South Wales trio’s first full-length with their new label partner. Lucid Love arrives with an accompanying anime music video, pushing the band’s current era further into synthetic textures, emotional dislocation and digital-era unease.
A sharper, more electronic turn
Discussing the single, Lucas Woodland said: “Lucid Love is our most extreme foray into hyperpop yet. We had an absolute blast experimenting with new sonic textures and ideas while working to marry them to the already existing HA sound, and we’re so pleased with the outcome.”
He added: “Lyrically, the song is about a long-distance relationship where the two of you can only meet in your dreams. I really leaned into that imagery, treating the dreamland almost as a portal between you. This song takes a newer, more candid and modern approach to lyrics than I’m used to, while still aiming for something timeless and relatable.”
The wider record draws its title in part from Blur’s Modern Life Is Rubbish, recasting that idea through the isolation, overload and strange intimacy of life in 2026. Rather than framing the album as another inward-facing confessional, Woodland describes Modern Life Is Lonely as a shift towards the world outside the self.
“This album was really the first time that I thought, ‘Let’s speak about the world that I live in, rather than the world that I am,” Lucas comments. “It’s no longer like a therapy class; a bunch of strangers are no longer turning up to Existentials Anonymous. In theory, everyone knows me now; they’ve heard my journey, but I’m still struggling in this big, bad world. It doesn’t matter how much enlightenment you can find within yourself; the world is still a scary place right now.”
The concept behind Modern Life Is Lonely
The record also introduces Y4-BBO, a character described as both a band mascot and a manifestation of the technological confusion running through this chapter. The figure appears on the album artwork, with a helmet made by the same team behind the Cybermen in Doctor Who.
Sonically, the band have pulled from hyperpop, lo-fi and the post-hardcore grit at the centre of their sound, with production handled by Daniel Braunstein. Woodland says that process involved pushing the band into less familiar shapes while keeping its core language intact.
“We pushed ourselves in ways that we’d never had before, while maintaining what that language of Holding Absence is. We’ll be introducing people to new sounds, and that’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. But also, I think everything should inspire something, and with this record, as pretty famous victims of what AI is capable of, I wanted to do shit that no AI idiot would ever try and do, or even understand how to do.”
Modern Life Is Lonely is available to pre-order and pre-save now.
The album in full
The 11-track record includes previously released material alongside Lucid Love, with the title track placed near the centre of the album’s run.
- Reanimate
- Reflection
- Heaven
- Modern Life Is Lonely
- Take Me With You
- shells_like_us.int
- Whisper Of A Dream
- Lucid Love
- Scorched Earth
- lullaby.int
- Kyoto Snow
Festival appearances and Enter Shikari arenas
Holding Absence will play US festival dates in September and October before joining Enter Shikari across Europe and the UK in November. The run includes major UK arena shows in Nottingham, Cardiff, Hull, Glasgow, Manchester and two nights at Alexandra Palace in London.
- 17 September: Louisville, KY, Louder Than Life Festival
- 01 October: Sacramento, CA, Aftershock Festival
- 03 November: Hamburg, Sporthalle with Enter Shikari
- 04 November: Munich, Zenith with Enter Shikari
- 05 November: Leipzig, Haus Auensee with Enter Shikari
- 06 November: Dusseldorf, Mitsubishi Electric Hall with Enter Shikari
- 07 November: Berlin, Columbiahalle with Enter Shikari
- 10 November: Brussels, Forest National with Enter Shikari
- 11 November: Tilburg, 013 with Enter Shikari
- 13 November: Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena with Enter Shikari
- 14 November: Cardiff, Utilita Arena with Enter Shikari
- 15 November: Hull, Connexin Live with Enter Shikari
- 18 November: Glasgow, OVO Hydro with Enter Shikari
- 19 November: Manchester, Co-op Live with Enter Shikari
- 20 November: London, Alexandra Palace with Enter Shikari
- 21 November: London, Alexandra Palace with Enter Shikari
