The Holydrug Couple

The Holydrug Couple

The Holydrug Couple are a Chilean neo-psychedelic rock band from Santiago, made up of Ives Sepúlveda and Manuel Parra. The group forms in 2008 and remains active. Their sound sits within psychedelic rock, neo-psychedelia and drone, and they record and perform as a two-piece.

Recording and releases

The band’s first release with Sacred Bones Records arrives in 2011. In Santiago, they record Noctuary in a home studio built by the pair, with the album made entirely by the band from start to finish. Sepúlveda takes on production and engineering duties himself, after deciding that no one else has captured their sound in the way they want. The album follows Awe and the Ancient Land EP, and marks a shift from the bluesier, woodier approach of those earlier releases toward a more layered, spacious sound.

Musical style

Noctuary is described through its drifting, dreamlike flow, with songs moving smoothly into one another. Tracks including “Willoweed,” “Paisley” and “Follow Your Way” are singled out as examples of the band’s developing style. The music is compared with a breezier take on 1960s-inspired psychedelic rock rather than a standard motorik or krautrock approach.