North Wales rock band celebrate their latest album hitting the official charts

Nation.Cymru staff

Welsh rock band Holy Coves are celebrating after their latest album, Hiraeth, made its mark on the official charts.

‘Hiraeth’ charted in six official charts. Number 3 in the Independent Album Breakers Chart, number 7 in the Record Store Chart, number 16 in the Independent Album Chart, number 52 in the Physical Album Chart, number 53 in the Album Sales Chart and number 55 in the Scottish Album Chart.

Formed in Swansea in 1989, the band became one of Sarah Records’ most distinctive voices, celebrated for shimmering guitars, emotional clarity, and a melodic sensibility that helped define the label’s legacy.

The band returned unexpectedly in 2025, when Hue Williams of The Pooh Sticks and Swansea Sound invited them to play a one-off support slot for The Gentle Spring, formerly The Field Mice.

The response to the performance in Swansea, with fans having travelled from across the UK and Europe to witness the moment, ultimately prompted the band to begin making music together again.

In the album, singer Scott Marsden, is backed by his band of brothers Jay Demarco (Drums), Yan Shi (Bass) and Adam Wilkinson (Guitar) plus their experienced north Wales production team with Welsh legends John Lawrence (Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci), Owain Ginsberg (We Are Animal / Hippies vs Ghosts), Spike T Smith (Morrisey / Killing Joke) and American producer Erik Wofford (The Black Angels / Black Pumas).

‘Hiraeth’ was released independently via the band’s own DIY record label, Snowdonia Records on 14th August 2026. The eagerly anticipated album has been widely praised and heavily championed by reviewers as a triumphant milestone and the finest work of their career.

The album has been described as a brave offering, orchestrated by a band with a clear vision, free from the confines of genre, pushing the band to new levels. Scott Marsdens song writing is more personal than ever, delving into difficult topics of childhood trauma, addiction, recovery, love, loss, tragedy and death which cuts deeper than ever before.

Difficult time

‘Hiraeth’ was written during a very difficult time for the band. Disillusioned with the music industry, they had reached a crossroads and decided to take some time away from social media, and the live tour circuit.

They wanted to figure out a plan to move forward together as an independent band, launching their own record label and bringing in a team of trusted friends to help them manage the band. Holy Coves wanted to go away from everything online, lock themselves away in their band room, and fully commit to writing a new record together.

During those writing sessions Scott’s Mother had fallen ill while the band were locked away, writing the new album in their band room on the Isle of Anglesey.

Writing sessions had to be paused on numerous occasions to deal with health and difficult family issues. The band persevered and showed up for each other, showing dedication to the writing. It felt like everything was against them but they managed to weather the storm and finish writing the record.

One week before heading into the band’s recording studio on Anglesey to record the album, Scott’s Mum, Sheila, sadly passed away. Cancelling the album recording had been discussed, but they decided that they wanted to put everything into this record and show up for each other when it mattered most. Like a band of brothers, Holy Coves headed into the recording studio to record ‘Hiraeth’.

Scott Marsden says: “We tried our best to lock ourselves away from the outside world. At times that felt impossible when life was lifeing harder than it ever has before. I used writing as a way to process everything that was happening around me. The real world crept into the band room and into the songs we were writing together.

“It was one of the hardest moments of my life, but at the same time it was very therapeutic. The band showed up for me when I needed them the most.

“I can’t think of any better therapy to losing your Mum than writing and recording a record. It gave the record so much more meaning, we put everything into this album, it was beautiful.”

Recording process

‘Hiraeth’ was recorded at the band’s studio in Menai Bridge, Isle of Anglesey, produced by Scott Marsden, John Lawrence & Owain Ginsberg and mixed and mastered by Erik Wofford in Austin Texas, USA.

Marsden says of ‘Hiraeth’: “This record means everything to me, Hiraeth is something I’ve been feeling for years as an adult but didn’t really understand fully when I was younger, it’s hard to put into words exactly what it means, it’s more of a feeling. For me it’s in the mountains, the forests, the trees, the meadows, the rivers, the beaches and the sea.

“It’s in everything I see that’s beautiful, the echoes of what was once there before me, my ancestors, I feel it deeply.

“We managed to build a chapter of songs around this to help tell my story. After talking about so many things on Druids and Bards that I’d never had the balls to talk about before, it freed me up to go deeper, to really get to the root of everything since I was a child. It gave me the confidence to speak up, and speak my mind, and say things how I feel and see them.”

Marsden says of ‘Awen Rock’: “For me the highest point of creativity is to be free to make the music you want, without any compromise. Don’t get me wrong we’re a rock band, but at the same time we are not confined to one genre, we blend different genres together to create our rock sound.

“Awen is all the elements, it’s creative energy that flows through us, Like Hiraeth it’s something I feel deeply. We call ourselves an Awen rock band because that’s what we are. This is a new genre, influenced by all the bands who were before us.”

Holy Coves will embark on an Autumn/Winter tour this year. You can listen to the album here. 

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