Jolie Holland & The Grand Chandeliers - Pint of Blood (25/08/2011)
With an already well-established, solid musical career under her belt, Texas-born and West-coast-raised Jolie Holland is back from a three year recording hiatus to deliver Pint Of Blood, an album full of pain, sultriness and the occasional twang.
Loosely taking inspiration from Neil Young and with hints of The Velvet Underground and the Stones, the album is a nod to the 60’s and 70’s styles of rock, folk and blues. Jazzy elements are thrown into the mix as well, making it a musically rich album, full of evocative undertones and flowing sounds that, unfortunately, feel uncomfortably loose.
For one thing, Holland’s raw Southern drawl is rather hard to endure, particularly on opening track All Those Girls, where her vocals grow weary all too quickly, and while the uniqueness of her voice is refreshing in this day and age, the brogue-ness of her style makes it a heavy listen. Although heavy, there are the occasional aesthetically pleasing nuances found within her vocals that release a lot of the tension that tends to build up within the tracks.
The album meanders its way through bluesy ballads The Devil’s Sake, Tender Mirror and Little Birds, which are laced with the occasional guitar lick or slide. Thankfully Holland’s heavy drawl (which is nowhere near as appealing as Tom Waits’) hides a lot of the lacklustre instrumentation, which continues along at an ordinary pace, lacking the necessary impact to compliment the emotionally-driven, raw themes found throughout the album.
June is the standout track; it is less burdensome than other tracks, providing a nice break between the weightiness of other tracks. The vacillating violin works nicely, interweaving through the melody and preventing the song from fading into the woodwork. Wreckage is a sauntering country track, full to the brim with steady clapping that strums its way through Holland’s lyrics of dark betrayal, If disappointment was like a drug/I overdosed again/I can't take the razor-sharp edge/Off your crooked grin she sings.
I must hand it to Holland; she is a true songwriter. She engages the listener through her lyrical observations, albeit sometimes tough-minded and pained, they are crafted admirably, and this is where her true talent lies.
Pint Of Blood lacks a lot of the solidness and charm of previous albums Catalpa and Escondida. And whilst Holland tries to recapture some of the magic and captivating elements of her previous releases, she falls painfully short. Each tracks seems unable to stand on its own as they bleed into each other, particularly in the latter half of the album. Whilst the tracks are evocative and strong, with tender themes, there is also something equally loose. And whilst looseness was Holland’s intention on her fifth trip in the studio, it’s a method that doesn’t entirely compliment her style; it seems to be working against, rather than with, her.
Keisha Hanbury
Loosely taking inspiration from Neil Young and with hints of The Velvet Underground and the Stones, the album is a nod to the 60’s and 70’s styles of rock, folk and blues. Jazzy elements are thrown into the mix as well, making it a musically rich album, full of evocative undertones and flowing sounds that, unfortunately, feel uncomfortably loose.
For one thing, Holland’s raw Southern drawl is rather hard to endure, particularly on opening track All Those Girls, where her vocals grow weary all too quickly, and while the uniqueness of her voice is refreshing in this day and age, the brogue-ness of her style makes it a heavy listen. Although heavy, there are the occasional aesthetically pleasing nuances found within her vocals that release a lot of the tension that tends to build up within the tracks.
The album meanders its way through bluesy ballads The Devil’s Sake, Tender Mirror and Little Birds, which are laced with the occasional guitar lick or slide. Thankfully Holland’s heavy drawl (which is nowhere near as appealing as Tom Waits’) hides a lot of the lacklustre instrumentation, which continues along at an ordinary pace, lacking the necessary impact to compliment the emotionally-driven, raw themes found throughout the album.
June is the standout track; it is less burdensome than other tracks, providing a nice break between the weightiness of other tracks. The vacillating violin works nicely, interweaving through the melody and preventing the song from fading into the woodwork. Wreckage is a sauntering country track, full to the brim with steady clapping that strums its way through Holland’s lyrics of dark betrayal, If disappointment was like a drug/I overdosed again/I can't take the razor-sharp edge/Off your crooked grin she sings.
I must hand it to Holland; she is a true songwriter. She engages the listener through her lyrical observations, albeit sometimes tough-minded and pained, they are crafted admirably, and this is where her true talent lies.
Pint Of Blood lacks a lot of the solidness and charm of previous albums Catalpa and Escondida. And whilst Holland tries to recapture some of the magic and captivating elements of her previous releases, she falls painfully short. Each tracks seems unable to stand on its own as they bleed into each other, particularly in the latter half of the album. Whilst the tracks are evocative and strong, with tender themes, there is also something equally loose. And whilst looseness was Holland’s intention on her fifth trip in the studio, it’s a method that doesn’t entirely compliment her style; it seems to be working against, rather than with, her.
Keisha Hanbury