Recommended Artist: Jolie Holland
Entirely self-trained, and a founding member of the much lauded Be-Good Tanyas, Texas born Jolie Holland is one
of the most unique and engaging singer-songwriters to emerge in the last few years. She has produced three
albums to date, the most recent of which is 2006’s ‘Springtime Can Kill You’.
While previous releases 2003’s ‘Catalpa’, (a somewhat impromptu recording made in a band member’s living room with no initial plans for wide release), and it’s follow-up, 2004’s ‘Escondida’, both established a range of influences and stylistic approaches, fusing country, folk and jazz ‘Springtime Can Kill You’ fully evolves Jolie’s own, seamless sound.
‘Haunted’ is one of the terms most frequently applied to Jolie’s work, and it is particularly apt when describing ‘Springtime Can Kill You’. The music is decidedly nocturnal, with quietly strummed guitars, brushes and barroom piano leading the way for Jolie’s wonderfully expressive, sultry, unmistakably Southern vocals.
The sound is vintage, without straying in to pointless nostalgia. Familiar, yet strange, you would be forgiven for thinking you had entered a jazz-age Twin Peaks populated by drunks, washed-out glamour queens and roaming musicians. Her grittily beautiful, though frequently surreal lyrics spin emotionally charged, exquisitely rendered stories of love, hope and hopelessness. Imagery is vivid, and clichés are neatly foregone in favor of her own evocative, poetic style. “I’ve got nowhere to go but to sleep”, she wearily sings on ‘Nothing To Do But Dream’. “I’m flirting with the birds, I’m talking to the weeds. Look what you’ve done to me”, from the opener, ‘Crush In The Ghetto’.
If you haven’t yet fallen under Jolie’s unique spell, ‘Springtime Can Kill You’ is an excellent way to get acquainted. Highly recommended. – Michael
Visit Jolie online at www.jolieholland.com and www.anti.com
You can hear the title track from ‘Springtime Can Kill You’ on Episode 2 of the Insomnia Cafe podcast.
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