{"id":38607,"date":"2015-11-09T17:14:43","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T23:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/?p=38607"},"modified":"2015-12-01T00:00:29","modified_gmt":"2015-12-01T06:00:29","slug":"julia-holter-have-you-in-my-wilderness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/2015\/11\/09\/julia-holter-have-you-in-my-wilderness\/","title":{"rendered":"Julia Holter: Have You in My Wilderness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"wilderness---packshot_1_sq-58d43dc5bd9ed401d1e9016f815067e8ab867c44-s300-c85\"<\/a>On the ninth track of a ten track album, “Vasquez,” Julia Holter finally prefaces the album: \u201cLet me tell you about faces I see.\u201d <\/span>The faces observed in\u00a0<\/span>Have You in My Wilderness<\/span><\/i>\u00a0are obscure like the muddled faces of a vapid dream, but ambiguity does not equate to apathetic writing. Somehow, the emotionally weighty lyrics drifting through Holter’s fourth album<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>compose her most accessible and resounding collection\u00a0to date.<\/span><\/p>\n

On \u201cFeel You,\u201d Holter portrays someone conflicted between infallible cosmic self-awareness and cathartic emotional torment. Holter has always been a journeyed lyricist with the narrative gravitas of a David Fincher film. On <\/span>Have You in My Wilderness, <\/span><\/i>Holter\u2019s narrative is more intimate than allusive. The album<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>reflects Holter\u2019s storytelling abilities rather than her talents at synopsizing a literary work with the opacity of a Georg Hegel essay. However, true to her California Institute of the Arts education, \u201cLanguage is such a play,\u201d as she exhales on \u201cSilhouette.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Future Rock Band adaptations of Holter\u2019s work would prove\u00a0to be a nightmare, as her vocal delivery continues to be unique and deliberate. Regardless of tonalities, Holter\u2019s voice emits more power than ever. Vocal dynamics are paramount in the mix, making each song feel especially personal, regardless of the topic. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLucette Stranded on the Island\u201d is <\/span>Have You in My Wilderness<\/span><\/i>\u2019 defining moment. Ambiguities penetrate the dense compositional fabric of cherubic crescendos and ethereal harmonies. Observing an unclearly familiar person, Holter observes that \u201cHe lights his cigarette with nothing,\u201d as \u201cstrange birds fly.\u201d With no minutiae present in Holter\u2019s memories, the emotions saturating the orchestration and lyrical climax are central to its interpretation. Even a scarring story of sexual assault like \u201cLucette Stranded on the Island\u201d can be recounted, but transmitting its supernovae of emotions is emblematic of rare talent that affirms Holter\u2019s mesmerizing narrative prowess in its own deified tier. <\/span><\/p>\n

An exterior evaluation of <\/span>Have You in My Wilderness\u00a0<\/span><\/i>is a spectacle of its own. Artistic and approachable efforts like \u201cFeel You\u201d and \u201cSea Calls Me Home\u201d are charming, with more repetitious melodies and familiar snare snaps. \u201cEverytime Boots\u201d is an especially elastic effort that\u2019s almost danceable, like a hoedown ballroom at a funeral. <\/span><\/p>\n

Holter\u2019s measured but eager lyrical rhythm can deter from her otherwise victoriously reticent songs like \u201cNight Song.\u201d Even studious listeners will be overwhelmed by her brisk vocal pace at the beginning, and her borderline unproductive lyrical repetition. <\/span><\/p>\n

Recommended If You Like: Tori Amos, Kate Boy, Nite Jewel<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recommended Tracks: 1 (Feel You), 4 (Lucette Stranded on the Island), 5 (Sea Calls Me Home), 8 (Betsy on the Roof)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do Not Play: None<\/strong><\/p>\n

Written By Logan Gossett on 11\/09\/15<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Have You in My Wilderness, Holter\u2019s narrative is more intimate than allusive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6418,"featured_media":38608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3235,3230,181],"tags":[3840,3837,3406],"class_list":["post-38607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","category-music-reviews","category-new-music-rotation","category-rock-rotation","tag-have-you-in-my-wilderness","tag-julia-holter","tag-logan-gossett"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Have-You-in-My-Wilderness.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}