Cryptid Hive – Goldie Holder (Album Review)

Cryptid Hive are a new band to be taken seriously. With their heady genre blend of shoegazer meets 90’s grunge Indie Rock nostalgia, they are sure to carve themselves out as distinctive and memorable amongst their audience for both live and recorded music. They’re a 4/5 piece band from Ipswich, UK, with plenty of talent in show in their 2025 Record: Goldie Holder. The 12 track album is jam-packed with immersive, high energy yet brooding songs that will leave you wanting to see them live.

The opening track, Orange Smoke, sets the scene with high energy palm muted guitars, clear high hats, bright and warm midi touches, and a driving bassline. A long instrumental opening gives an introductory element that could be used to introduce a live crowd! I like how the track quickly switches after a full minute to a different vibe with smooth, stacked, tight octave vocals. The drums have a lot of processing on the cymbals (crash/ride), which is a heady and dominant mix choice. I like the breakdown in the middle and the contrast between the more airy sections and the rich, buzzy dark tones driven by guitar and drums. A cool first track with a lovely, gritty ending.

The second track is Town Ain’t All That. With the vocals this low in the mix, they’re used as a percussive element to thread together the other instruments. The guitar is very high in mix, even when it fades between acoustic and distorted elements. There is a lovely 90’s rock nostalgic element that feels like Blurs’ Tea and Coffee: Just paired with a really modern, intentional production. The subtle and intelligent use of MIDI really lifts this track.

The third track is the Album name sake: Goldie Holder. The chorus effect on the guitar is a nice shoegazer nod, but the dry drums come in too quietly in the mix. To appreciate the crisp, airy nature of that snare, a listener wants it high enough to feel like their ear is right next to it. A less tight snare might sound good, potentially. This song has really interesting musical section changes here, in quick succession, with good thought to composition and instrumentation: it’s sophisticated and progressive. I think there’s space for a bass solo at 01:22. The pan pipe/flute under-lick is a great addition, and there’s a really strong Pet Shop Boys vibe to the vocals.

The next track opens with a bang and a very prominent synth riff. Musingc has the strongest vocal line yet. This is a favourite song for intention in delivery, and it feels really sync-able to me. It’s a very heady, maximalist sound, that feels like an attack on the senses. The vocal style suits this production really well, with the gentle third harmony soft in there. The filtered drums bed in really well and are so compressed, it lets the vocals float above them. I like the soft pink noise ending. The wobble in the chorus/flange on the guitar is warm and floaty as it fades. A great dopamine track.

Nuggets At Joyful opens with a skippy, swung 6/8 rhythm, which suits the playful lyrics well. The track features vocals which are a bit higher in the mix, but the track is a bit quieter overall. It’s a short song with potentially not enough thought given to the ending, as it cuts off rather unceremoniously. I’d love to hear this song develop further, it could have another minute on it to let the listener get into it.

Ponderful is one of the longer songs, including a more indulgent intro, which is welcomed. Thick, fuzzy guitar layers, high cymbals in the mix again, and lacy soft vocal layers offer a clear, punchy chorus and power chord, high-energy post-chorus. The prosody between vocals and guitars feels synonymous with a more domesticated Foofighters feel. I love the nice, tight ending!

Next is Nought Point Anything, which instantly creates a more ominous, darker mood with its resolving baseline from the sharpened root note. A good, clear intro establishes the song well. High energy (meticulous) drumming- those fills! At that bpm! Whoa! The track peels back to a brighter section with plenty of lush harmonics and filtered sounds. This section could have more contrast: perhaps push the vocals right up to the front of the mix to get the attack over those faster note changes.

Late Night letters: This is a more brooding, gritty, guitar opener- potentially louder than the previous track. There’s more Nirvana/Foo Fighters vibes here with the guitar that high and thick in the mix. The track might benefit from a little more space created for the vocals to punch through. This is a really strong song again with a broad, full encompassing sound.

Kirimushi offers us a well placed pallete cleanser for the ear. It is a mainly midi-driven track. The drums are absolutely spot on for the song. There is loads of space and depth created here by not overcrowding the mid-frequencies. There is a good balance between a subby bass, lacy and textured midi, and a steady percussion that beds into the track and enhances the whole feel. This track shows good restraint and simplicity in its format, playing, and production. Just a bit more attention on the vocal sound would make it excellent.

Poltergeist is another nice high-energy song with a resolving bassline offering nice muddy discordance as the bassline moves. Theres a great guitar solo, but perhaps this could be doubled in length, or a bass solo offered alongside, as the song has so much to enjoy, but is rather short.

Mosquito Running And Flying is a uniquely titled track! It opens with driving guitar riffs on a harmonic minor scale, which is really satisfying. Catchy, fun lyrics ensure that this song can be sung back as a favourite track by an audience after a first listen. The phrasing of the lyrics feels like The Beatles’ Octopus’ Garden reimagined by Weezer. The bookending of the main riff intro and ending is classy and gives a nice complete feel to the track. This song is a potent and hedonistic mix, and its uniqueness is a great antidote to the banality of life.

Airport is the final track, and it delivers something that has bubbled low in the psyche from the first track: Oh yes! A sound that cross fertilizes 90’s Madonna (Beautiful Stranger) with Pet Shop Boys sonic fidelity. Who knew the world needed this?! A lovely dreamy immersion of floating dark guitars buzzing through the clean guitar riff. The ending has good thought too, with the crackle and fuzz to the end.

Overall, this is a unique, intentional production to challenge, reimagine and answer to 90’s grunge indie rock. The record is predominated by a wash of buzzy, gritty high energy and dark-toned guitars that drive forward a thick mid-frequency feel throughout. The tracks are well composed, chopping creatively between sections and giving good thought to the MIDI components for balance. There is plenty of room for more 90’s Electro-pop influences to come out in the future (Think Goldfrapp’s ‘Ohh La la la’ or Air- ‘Sexy Boy’) and a doubling down on vocal production for album two.

The drummer is incredibly skilled, and his playing style is lyrical and expressive, but the cymbals could be mixed with more restraint. Whilst this wash of sizzle adds to the feel of the tracks, it is often too high in the mix to sit within it. The mastering needs a check too as there is some variation in volume between songs.

Its clear that there is an awful lot of talent here in the playing, and I recommend listening to their live SmokeHouse recording on youtube. In their live mix, the drums are central, tempered, and the vocals are lifted with a breathy, sweet female layer. The male vocal is really impressive and shows it can lead in the tracks from the front.

Favourite tracks were the maximalist one (Musingc) and the minimalist one (Kirimushi) because they both lean so hard into their concept. These songs set them apart and are the most memorable, so I would dare them to be even braver with each song concept. The vocals are used as a percussive layer often, but having looked at the excellent live vocal performances, I would choose a higher vocal mix and really nail the Pet Shop Boys vocal production: push harder on the aloof lyric delivery, harder compression to polish it forwards, double track (slap delay perhaps), clean EQ and reverb using the hardware of the late 80s. The vocals should feel floating above the track, not lost in the muddy mid frequencies as sometimes happens on the studio record.

SCORE/Good-Excellent: This record is a solid first run of really engaging tracks, set to a stylized aesthetic that delivers coherently and confidently across the 12 songs. There is a strong sonic identity and plenty of skill to enjoy. A few production tweaks and more exploration on style would lift this to a firm EXCELLENT rating. Album 2 is sure to be a delight!

[We rank singles, EPs, and albums on a scale of Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, and Outstanding]

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