Holy F--- Don't Put Much Stock Into Song, Album Titles

Among the nine tracks on Holy F---'s latest album, 'Latin,' you won't find a bossa nova, a reference to Rome, or any allusions to the Catholic Church. In fact, according to band member Brian Borcherdt, aside from being the title of the album, the word 'latin' has nothing at all to do with the band's latest batch of songs.

Rather than thinking up appropriate names for their songs or albums, the band steers clear of suggestive titles in the hopes that their analog electronic tunes will serve as soundtrack to a movie that plays inside the listener's head. Borcherdt says he wants listeners to develop their own plot lines.

"We don't want to paint the image of the song for the listeners. We are confident people can conjure their own images," he tells Spinner.

'Latin' is packed with the type of tunes that fans have come to expect from the band. Searing soundscapes are powered by relentless dance beats and christened with ambiguous tags, such as 'Silva & Grimes,' 'Red Lights,' 'SHT MTN' and 'Latin America.' And while most bands glean song names from a prominent lyric, Holy F--- plucks names from more random sources.

"'Red Lights' was named because the first time we played it was in the red light district of Amsterdam. 'Latin America' is named after the 'Latin Rock' preset on a battery-operated Casio keyboard," Borcherdt explains. He hopes listeners don't go looking for secret messages hidden within the band's song or album titles, but admits that choosing words that don't come loaded with symbolism is a challenge.

"We name songs instantly and we try to keep it vague, but this time we named a song after an entire continent, so there is bound to be imagery attached," he says.

Holy F--- formed in 2004 when Borcherdt and Graham Walsh hooked up with the intention of making electronic music without the aid of computers, sequencers or samplers. For some, these self-imposed limitations would feel like a set of handcuffs, but Borcherdt believes the restrictions define the band.

"We come from punk-rock backgrounds and we wanted to make beat-driven music without purchasing tons of gear," he says. "We use things we find, things that are cheap and things you don't need a manual for."

The group are currently playing their live beats to Canadian audiences, with an appearance at Guelph's Hillside Festival this weekend and a few east-coast dates. After a stop in Chicago, they'll cross the pond to continue their tour in Europe and the UK.