Frustrating, then, is Holland’s newest work, Pint of Blood. So much of the raw building blocks are present for this to be a superb record. Holland’s voice is in fine form, gliding between thoughts and words, melisma intact, bending and caressing notes to forge them into wholly new beings and shapes. But these songs feel emptier and more hollow than Holland’s previous work.
Fresh off the release of her third studio album, Springtime Can Kill You, Jolie Holland is on the road again, touring with a pair of back-ups, her fiddle, guitar, and piano. The former Be Good Tanyas singer recently put on a nearly flawless (musically) show at Seattle’s Triple Door, a vintage club which proved the perfect venue for her vintage-sounding voice.
Beyond top 40 radio spinning Rihanna every half hour, there is another realm of music waiting to be snatched up. This summer, turn off the radio and plug into a couple of internet music blogs and webzines to unearth gems from these engrossing performers and to conceive an indie soundtrack to the season.
