Half of the acclaimed alt-folk duo Foreign Fields, Boy Bjorn is Brian Holl’s solo effort. At times the music is bewildering and washy, multiple drum samples stacked on top of synth layers all fighting to break through the winner. In others, intricate and solemn, the song and lyrics are his eyes and ears experiencing wisdom for the first time.
Vocally enchanting may sum it up in a moment but let’s dig a bit deeper into the new single, “Too Young” from Boy Bjorn. Drums steadily roll as Holl aurally sweeps through the track with charming range and inflection, dipping in and out of a smooth, bass-driven sonic landscape. A direct and honest indie pop expression, Boy Bjorn touches on the simple, on the voyeur in us all, analyzing our neighbor, pondering the simplicity in the veins of existence: lawn maintenance.
“Too Young“ is about my neighbor who happens to be quite the old crank and hopefully he doesn’t read this. Not a day goes by where he’s not blowing leaves, picking a single stray weed, spraying round up, or mowing. It must drive him nuts to see me letting my perennials get a little bushy, planting all sorts of vegetables, and generally just letting nature have its way a little more. Yes, this song is about the cultural divide of American lawns,” says Holl.
