Holding Onto Hope can only be described as a movement; a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant hardcore scene.
Formed in August of 2008, Holding Onto Hope appeared with a vision to awaken people through raw emotion and the power of music. The first glimpse of that credo became evident with a self-produced concept EP entitled “Of The Sea”. The EP contains sounds ranging from mewithoutYou, Thrice, As Cities Burn, Oh Sleeper, and Oceana, intertwining with melodic backbones reminiscent of Explosions In The Sky and This Will Destroy You.
Holding Onto Hope, through an incorporation of deep appreciation for listeners and close contact with fans, is re-incorporating the idea of “community through music” back into the hardcore scene. Partnering with Come&Live! Records for the release of “Of The Sea” (offered online through the “pay what you feel” method) marked a step in the right direction for the quartet from San Luis Obispo, California. Holding Onto Hope reaffirms us that here, at long last, is a band that is fully moving forward with the intention to continually grow, and not only grow musically, but to sprout wings and fly, to stand out and transcend genres to come through action and the power of Jesus Christ.
With only a year under their collective belt, HOH has already written and recorded an EP, signed to Come&Live!, and completed three nation-wide tours. The writing process for their highly anticipated full-length album will begin in January of 2010 with studio time to follow. A late summer release is expected. Following the completion of the record, HOH will be hitting the road in both Europe and the US with tour plans of ten to eleven months out of the year.
Holding Onto Hope realize that music is a gift, a tool through which lives can be changed forever. It is a vessel of love, carrying a “message of hope and truth to those who are weary”. They know God has blessed them with song for a reason, etched into their hearts the band’s sole purpose and vision— that their music should be shared with every person possible. That is why, as with “Of The Sea”, plans have been made to offer the entire full length album for whatever price people want to pay. In the words of HOH themselves, “There is a dying world of people that are completely empty and we want to reach them through music. I think we all lose sight at times with everything going on in our lives, but we encourage you to push through and find that honesty and truth…Enjoy your life, don’t look back, do what moves your heart. No one said it would be easy, they said it would be worth it.”